Well, it's been less than a year. Here, have a summary of everything I've done!! :DDDD
So that's something, at least. ^^;; I feel I should confess that I'm spending way more time over at tumblr, but in all honesty all I do there is rebagel. I've mostly just not been blogging at all. Which I kind of miss! How else am I supposed to remember anything I did ever?
In terms of updates: When last we spoke, I was about to head down to Norfolk to see my otouto's ship come in.
Oh, my mum and I went down to Norfolk for the whole week; it's just that my brother's ship didn't come in the entire time we were there. (In typical Navy fashion, they decided they needed two weeks to do a repair, but didn't tell the sailors they would be stuck in Florida for that long until two days before they were supposed to hit Virginia. Ooooh, he was mad.) As my little brother had said, "There's nothing to do in Norfolk," we challenge accepted our way around the area, visiting Yorktown, Jamestown, Williamsburg, Roanoke, Kittihawk, Cape Hatteras Light House, the Nauticus Museum, and Virginia Beach. It was actually a great vacation! With the single exception of D not being there. >.> Luckily he got to come home for shore leave a few weeks later, which was very nice. :)
In August, I gave blood at a blood drive, in return for which I received a free movie ticket. So totally worth it. XD
The biggest thing that happened in September (other than D's birthday) was that my friend J invited me to join his Pathfinder (D&D spinoff) group. This is ongoing, whenever we can all get together on a Saturday, and we're still stuck in the same town, in the same Groundhog Day style time-loop. It's been awesome. And I also feel like I've gotten to stretch some creative muscles that I haven't used in... well, probably decades, which is pretty cool.
Oh, I think it was also in late September that I actually submitted my thesis to a journal for publication, after much time spent formatting footnotes and finding typos oh god why those are in my thesis in the library online forever.
Very early in October, I headed out to California to once again spend Canadian Thanksgiving with R and a passel of our Vancouver friends, including athena-crikey. It was great to see everyone, plus I got to go with R and R's Mom and one of the many Ns to the League of Legends World Championships. Which meant I started playing League that morning, because R and N insisted that I couldn't possible go to Worlds without ever having played. I did play quite a bit after that especially while I was still in consideration or a job with Riot, which did not happen, but the combination of internet at my parents' house and the age of my poor computer Imogen has meant that I can't be on skype and league at the same time, at which point what is the point, I ask you. Buuuut I digress. :p I spent almost two weeks hanging out with R in Cali, and also go to see my friends P and other N, as well as family-friends A & G (and new baby G!) who are also living in LA. With obligatory stops at the beach, and also a trip to Six Flags, it was a pretty great trip. :)
For Halloween I carved SO MANY PUMPKINS, including this one which is possibly my favorite ever.
In October I was in the midst of applying to both Riot and the local kids' museum, so I mostly did babysitting and movies and hanging out. In November, I did much of the same, though I also volunteered at SMFGF, a fundraiser for the children's hospital. In late November I began an internship at that kids' museum, though I was still doing phone interviews with Riot. (I ultimately did three before they finally turned me down. I was fairly relieved, actually, because I was still getting over homesickness. Also, ugh, LA is my least favorite city in pretty much the world. Excepting R's presence, of course.)
In November I also got the comments back on my paper. Which were (apparently as is common) quite negative, despite telling me that I should revise and resubmit? I have to admit, I'm so poor at taking criticism that between the holidays, the Olympics, and my deep reluctance to return to something other people *le gasp* didn't adore, I basically haven't touched it since (though that's a near-term goal).
The holidays were awesome! All my sibs were home, and we all got to hang out. It was great, though deeply weird to not have to travel to get there. Deeply, deeply, weird. We had a lovely Christmas, and then through our usual rip-roaring Boxing Day party. :D New Year's was spent at friend J & R's new place, with a surprise appearance by N, of LA fame.
The biggest thing in January was that my friend D, who was in Gunma with me on JET, and I started a Nihongo Club, on the model of an eikaiwa. So far we've got mostly beginners and have spent most of our time teaching them the basics, but hopefully soon we'll be able to have real conversations! And it's been lovely just to have a place to use words like いす and 時計 again. :)
Wow, long cut is long. Anyway, for right now I should really be looking for real jobs, since my internship at the local kids' museum should be drawing to a close soon. But in all honesty, I've been so distracted by the Olympics that I haven't done anything for the last two weeks. (Long time fans, or those with a scroll button, may remember that this is not a new problem in my life. :p) Those big decisions about where I want to live and what I really want to do are still pretty much looming, though the experiment with the kids' museum has at least shown me that I like museums and non-profit type work.
Anyway, take care y'all! I'd like to say I'll be back fairly soon, but at this point I'd feel bad making promises. ^^;;
In terms of updates: When last we spoke, I was about to head down to Norfolk to see my otouto's ship come in.
Oh, my mum and I went down to Norfolk for the whole week; it's just that my brother's ship didn't come in the entire time we were there. (In typical Navy fashion, they decided they needed two weeks to do a repair, but didn't tell the sailors they would be stuck in Florida for that long until two days before they were supposed to hit Virginia. Ooooh, he was mad.) As my little brother had said, "There's nothing to do in Norfolk," we challenge accepted our way around the area, visiting Yorktown, Jamestown, Williamsburg, Roanoke, Kittihawk, Cape Hatteras Light House, the Nauticus Museum, and Virginia Beach. It was actually a great vacation! With the single exception of D not being there. >.> Luckily he got to come home for shore leave a few weeks later, which was very nice. :)
In August, I gave blood at a blood drive, in return for which I received a free movie ticket. So totally worth it. XD
The biggest thing that happened in September (other than D's birthday) was that my friend J invited me to join his Pathfinder (D&D spinoff) group. This is ongoing, whenever we can all get together on a Saturday, and we're still stuck in the same town, in the same Groundhog Day style time-loop. It's been awesome. And I also feel like I've gotten to stretch some creative muscles that I haven't used in... well, probably decades, which is pretty cool.
Oh, I think it was also in late September that I actually submitted my thesis to a journal for publication, after much time spent formatting footnotes and finding typos oh god why those are in my thesis in the library online forever.
Very early in October, I headed out to California to once again spend Canadian Thanksgiving with R and a passel of our Vancouver friends, including athena-crikey. It was great to see everyone, plus I got to go with R and R's Mom and one of the many Ns to the League of Legends World Championships. Which meant I started playing League that morning, because R and N insisted that I couldn't possible go to Worlds without ever having played. I did play quite a bit after that especially while I was still in consideration or a job with Riot, which did not happen, but the combination of internet at my parents' house and the age of my poor computer Imogen has meant that I can't be on skype and league at the same time, at which point what is the point, I ask you. Buuuut I digress. :p I spent almost two weeks hanging out with R in Cali, and also go to see my friends P and other N, as well as family-friends A & G (and new baby G!) who are also living in LA. With obligatory stops at the beach, and also a trip to Six Flags, it was a pretty great trip. :)
For Halloween I carved SO MANY PUMPKINS, including this one which is possibly my favorite ever.
In October I was in the midst of applying to both Riot and the local kids' museum, so I mostly did babysitting and movies and hanging out. In November, I did much of the same, though I also volunteered at SMFGF, a fundraiser for the children's hospital. In late November I began an internship at that kids' museum, though I was still doing phone interviews with Riot. (I ultimately did three before they finally turned me down. I was fairly relieved, actually, because I was still getting over homesickness. Also, ugh, LA is my least favorite city in pretty much the world. Excepting R's presence, of course.)
In November I also got the comments back on my paper. Which were (apparently as is common) quite negative, despite telling me that I should revise and resubmit? I have to admit, I'm so poor at taking criticism that between the holidays, the Olympics, and my deep reluctance to return to something other people *le gasp* didn't adore, I basically haven't touched it since (though that's a near-term goal).
The holidays were awesome! All my sibs were home, and we all got to hang out. It was great, though deeply weird to not have to travel to get there. Deeply, deeply, weird. We had a lovely Christmas, and then through our usual rip-roaring Boxing Day party. :D New Year's was spent at friend J & R's new place, with a surprise appearance by N, of LA fame.
The biggest thing in January was that my friend D, who was in Gunma with me on JET, and I started a Nihongo Club, on the model of an eikaiwa. So far we've got mostly beginners and have spent most of our time teaching them the basics, but hopefully soon we'll be able to have real conversations! And it's been lovely just to have a place to use words like いす and 時計 again. :)
Wow, long cut is long. Anyway, for right now I should really be looking for real jobs, since my internship at the local kids' museum should be drawing to a close soon. But in all honesty, I've been so distracted by the Olympics that I haven't done anything for the last two weeks. (Long time fans, or those with a scroll button, may remember that this is not a new problem in my life. :p) Those big decisions about where I want to live and what I really want to do are still pretty much looming, though the experiment with the kids' museum has at least shown me that I like museums and non-profit type work.
Anyway, take care y'all! I'd like to say I'll be back fairly soon, but at this point I'd feel bad making promises. ^^;;