Update--rl, work (no more shoes!), Brokeback, moving, college???
Hey all, it's been a long week.
So my week+ in review:
Sunday 1st: Church went as usual, work was boring as usual
Monday: Loafed around the house, picking at things in the closet that I have no idea what to do with when I move out. Looking at my brother's closets, I'm going to follow their examples and leave a whole bunch of shit in there for my parents to deal with. ^___^
Tuesday: I finally got Sel, Rain, Nem, and Dem to decide on a place and time to get together. The person late this time: me. *Faceplants* I missed my bus becuase I forgot that I had exchanged my last paper dollar with a silver dollar a few days ago at work. They don't take silver dollars on the bus. >_<; Oh well, I wound up being a half-hour late, but the others seemed to have filled the time okay.
We spent a little time at Kinokuniya, drooling over manga and Asian books and, in Nem' and Sel's cases, music CDs. Then we piled into Dem's SUV-thingie and drove up to the U-district and found the Seven Gables Theater. (Along the way we gave each other our gifts--Nem got me a cool calender and Dem got me the Kyou Kara Maou first novel in Japanese, some cool toe socks and even a set of tabi from the Japanese dollar store, and [*squeal*] a charm from the ninja shrine! I'm so easy to please. Sel and Rain, you guys forget to get your ducks! You get the black and red ones by default, since Nem swiped the Pirate one and Dem took pity on the dead one.)
The Seven Gables was very cool old theater that has only one screen and nice seats that rock back and forth. Their popcorn could have been better, but considering I was mooching off Dem's bag anyway...*G* (Oh, and just to prove that the NW is the smallest place on Earth, Dem ran into one of her friends from her thesis class--she was the ticket counter cashier. Dem was so surprised! ^_^)
All the time we were together I was bombarding*Cough* we asked Dem questions about life in Japan and her students. It was great! Her enthusiasm about her students (even the ones she didn't like as much) and the things she was doing over there was really encouraging, even if she was totally starved for American food. We went to Subway to eat and she told us how few sandwiches were available in resturaunts in Japan and only on white-style breads. She noticed there was a donut shop next store and wanted to grab some, but by the time we had finished our sandwiches and talked some more, we had forgotten and left to try to get Sel, Rain and Dem to the ferry. (We didn't know what time the ferry left and wound up getting there just in time.)
Dem ran me home, since I had a few boxes of her Chinese and English manga that she wanted to ship back to Japan. We stopped off at Barnes and Nobles on the way, she bought some board games, and we both puzzled over Sudoku. (Anyone reading this know what the heck started this Sudoku craze? It's strange how fast it popped up...I don't know how to play it, but it seems interesting...)
So we got home, got Dem her manga, and she and my mom start poking me about college. Only...Dem's been to college lately and she's doing exactly what I want to do and, well, her encouragement was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Yeah, I'm going over to GRCC tomorrow and talking to an advisor about going back. I want a four year degree. I want to be able to go to Japan and teach. I want to have a degree that will give me a shot at a career that I want, not a job that I can survive with. So, with that in mind, I've started looking at Universities in the Puget Sound area. Some of the websites have been very helpful, others not, but I think I'm slowly wittling down what degrees may work for me. The most promising being: English, Philosophy, and Biology. Most likely with minors in Music or Japanese, where ever I go, because I love them too much not to.
Tution and admission deadlines are the greatest hurdles, besides figuring out which of my old AA credits will transfer. The schools I'm looking at range around $12,000-$30,000 a year (three semesters). The UW was surprisingly one of the lowest ones, and it's closer to home than most--DeVry I could walk to, but I'm not sure I'd like the classes as much. I don't want to take business classes--just some computer courses! XP
I really wish that I could get a General Studies degree, just like my AA, but from what I've read on the UW site, it's hard to do and the classes you're allowed to take are very limited in certain areas. For example, if I wanted to take an art class, I could get in on a art history lecture, but none of the studio art classes. I understand, though, that those are needed for students with specific studies...*Pouts longingly* I just want to try EVERYTHING and they won't let me.
So, plans for the future (Dad would be so proud to know I'm planning ahead...kinda):
Move out--I'm doing so this week! spinshadow, I hope you and Rain have cleared out my room! I'm planning on the big day as Friday or Saturday! Hopefully I'll get everything out in one fell swoop. *Looks around and whimpers slightly*
Find a job--Apply to the casino, Home Depot, Joanne's, the shipyard, etc. I need a job over there quick!
Apply to universities--as well as finicial aid, student loans, etc. (Any suggestions as to good sites and programs, anyone?)
If accepted... I'll move back home at the beginning of fall. My parents will let me live rent-free as long as I'm full time studying.
Next year--mssakura, I'm not sure when you guys are going to Edinburough (sp?), but I'll try to meet you there at the end of spring quarter, if everything goes alright. Mom's all for me having an 'adventure' in Europe and pointed out that most colleges break for summer, so even if I only went for three to six months, I'd only be missing summer and maybe fall quarter next year. *Crosses fingers* (Which reminds me, I have to get my passport!!! *_* Eee!)
3-ish years from now... I'll have my 4 year and be able to apply to JET or NOVA. *SQUEEEEE!*
...Oh, yeah. Brokeback was good. I sniffled a tiny bit at the end. Wednesday-Saturday was slow as shit at work. Sunday was my last day for the Deeper Life Band at church and also for Naturalizer (THANK YOU, Jesus!). My pastor embarrassed the hell out of me by announcing it to the congregation (though with the rumor mill of my church not too many people were surprised). My coworkers and I all went out to Red Robin for our holiday party/my last day send off. We all complained that we wanted to drink, but we had to drive ourselves home...basically what we've been saying in the store, but only we really, truly meant it and looked longingly at the bottles of liquer lined up infront of out table (we faced the bar--mean!).
It was a great night, we arrived around 7 (I almost hit everyone of them in the parking lot! >_<) and didn't leave until 9. We also exchanged presents and my manager got me a gift set from Bath and Body works. It has a body cream, scrub, and a card set, placed inside a small chest. She pointed out the cards and said 'I don't do the e-mail thing--these are the old fashioned note cards, you send them in the mail. I want one labelled from England--you know the store's address!' ^_^;;
So my week+ in review:
Sunday 1st: Church went as usual, work was boring as usual
Monday: Loafed around the house, picking at things in the closet that I have no idea what to do with when I move out. Looking at my brother's closets, I'm going to follow their examples and leave a whole bunch of shit in there for my parents to deal with. ^___^
Tuesday: I finally got Sel, Rain, Nem, and Dem to decide on a place and time to get together. The person late this time: me. *Faceplants* I missed my bus becuase I forgot that I had exchanged my last paper dollar with a silver dollar a few days ago at work. They don't take silver dollars on the bus. >_<; Oh well, I wound up being a half-hour late, but the others seemed to have filled the time okay.
We spent a little time at Kinokuniya, drooling over manga and Asian books and, in Nem' and Sel's cases, music CDs. Then we piled into Dem's SUV-thingie and drove up to the U-district and found the Seven Gables Theater. (Along the way we gave each other our gifts--Nem got me a cool calender and Dem got me the Kyou Kara Maou first novel in Japanese, some cool toe socks and even a set of tabi from the Japanese dollar store, and [*squeal*] a charm from the ninja shrine! I'm so easy to please. Sel and Rain, you guys forget to get your ducks! You get the black and red ones by default, since Nem swiped the Pirate one and Dem took pity on the dead one.)
The Seven Gables was very cool old theater that has only one screen and nice seats that rock back and forth. Their popcorn could have been better, but considering I was mooching off Dem's bag anyway...*G* (Oh, and just to prove that the NW is the smallest place on Earth, Dem ran into one of her friends from her thesis class--she was the ticket counter cashier. Dem was so surprised! ^_^)
All the time we were together I was bombarding*Cough* we asked Dem questions about life in Japan and her students. It was great! Her enthusiasm about her students (even the ones she didn't like as much) and the things she was doing over there was really encouraging, even if she was totally starved for American food. We went to Subway to eat and she told us how few sandwiches were available in resturaunts in Japan and only on white-style breads. She noticed there was a donut shop next store and wanted to grab some, but by the time we had finished our sandwiches and talked some more, we had forgotten and left to try to get Sel, Rain and Dem to the ferry. (We didn't know what time the ferry left and wound up getting there just in time.)
Dem ran me home, since I had a few boxes of her Chinese and English manga that she wanted to ship back to Japan. We stopped off at Barnes and Nobles on the way, she bought some board games, and we both puzzled over Sudoku. (Anyone reading this know what the heck started this Sudoku craze? It's strange how fast it popped up...I don't know how to play it, but it seems interesting...)
So we got home, got Dem her manga, and she and my mom start poking me about college. Only...Dem's been to college lately and she's doing exactly what I want to do and, well, her encouragement was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Yeah, I'm going over to GRCC tomorrow and talking to an advisor about going back. I want a four year degree. I want to be able to go to Japan and teach. I want to have a degree that will give me a shot at a career that I want, not a job that I can survive with. So, with that in mind, I've started looking at Universities in the Puget Sound area. Some of the websites have been very helpful, others not, but I think I'm slowly wittling down what degrees may work for me. The most promising being: English, Philosophy, and Biology. Most likely with minors in Music or Japanese, where ever I go, because I love them too much not to.
Tution and admission deadlines are the greatest hurdles, besides figuring out which of my old AA credits will transfer. The schools I'm looking at range around $12,000-$30,000 a year (three semesters). The UW was surprisingly one of the lowest ones, and it's closer to home than most--DeVry I could walk to, but I'm not sure I'd like the classes as much. I don't want to take business classes--just some computer courses! XP
I really wish that I could get a General Studies degree, just like my AA, but from what I've read on the UW site, it's hard to do and the classes you're allowed to take are very limited in certain areas. For example, if I wanted to take an art class, I could get in on a art history lecture, but none of the studio art classes. I understand, though, that those are needed for students with specific studies...*Pouts longingly* I just want to try EVERYTHING and they won't let me.
So, plans for the future (Dad would be so proud to know I'm planning ahead...kinda):
Move out--I'm doing so this week! spinshadow, I hope you and Rain have cleared out my room! I'm planning on the big day as Friday or Saturday! Hopefully I'll get everything out in one fell swoop. *Looks around and whimpers slightly*
Find a job--Apply to the casino, Home Depot, Joanne's, the shipyard, etc. I need a job over there quick!
Apply to universities--as well as finicial aid, student loans, etc. (Any suggestions as to good sites and programs, anyone?)
If accepted... I'll move back home at the beginning of fall. My parents will let me live rent-free as long as I'm full time studying.
Next year--mssakura, I'm not sure when you guys are going to Edinburough (sp?), but I'll try to meet you there at the end of spring quarter, if everything goes alright. Mom's all for me having an 'adventure' in Europe and pointed out that most colleges break for summer, so even if I only went for three to six months, I'd only be missing summer and maybe fall quarter next year. *Crosses fingers* (Which reminds me, I have to get my passport!!! *_* Eee!)
3-ish years from now... I'll have my 4 year and be able to apply to JET or NOVA. *SQUEEEEE!*
...Oh, yeah. Brokeback was good. I sniffled a tiny bit at the end. Wednesday-Saturday was slow as shit at work. Sunday was my last day for the Deeper Life Band at church and also for Naturalizer (THANK YOU, Jesus!). My pastor embarrassed the hell out of me by announcing it to the congregation (though with the rumor mill of my church not too many people were surprised). My coworkers and I all went out to Red Robin for our holiday party/my last day send off. We all complained that we wanted to drink, but we had to drive ourselves home...basically what we've been saying in the store, but only we really, truly meant it and looked longingly at the bottles of liquer lined up infront of out table (we faced the bar--mean!).
It was a great night, we arrived around 7 (I almost hit everyone of them in the parking lot! >_<) and didn't leave until 9. We also exchanged presents and my manager got me a gift set from Bath and Body works. It has a body cream, scrub, and a card set, placed inside a small chest. She pointed out the cards and said 'I don't do the e-mail thing--these are the old fashioned note cards, you send them in the mail. I want one labelled from England--you know the store's address!' ^_^;;