It might not be hell, but you can see it from here.

On a whim I’ve decided to compact four years worth of college into three.  Meaning I should be graduating this year (provided that I don’t fail any classes). My #1 reason for doing this is because I absolutely hate my school.  I know college years are suppose to be the best years of your life, and frankly, this isn’t the best years of my life.  But in order to avoid being sued by my own institution I won’t begin to list the 242934 reasons why my school is probably one of the worst ever.  But it is. Seriously.

This semester will probably be super duper crazy.  I’ll be taking a grand total of 8 classes, and will attempt to get into graduate school while maintaining grades good enough to maintain my scholarship.

This means this year will be the craziest school year ever. But as a reward I will be able to escape this hellhole place of higher learning.

Decision Time!

Okay I need some real, practical help.

So, finally after going through all this sticky red tape, I am a licensed driver again.  When I moved from overseas, my license didn’t transfer over. Boo-hiss. I was told I had to get a learner’s permit and wait 9 months before I could take the drivers test.  So I got a learners permit.  In the meantime my parents thought it was a good idea to buy me a Toyota Corrola. I love it!

But then things happened. My eyes went out of whack and I couldn’t drive for a while.  I learned that I have a degenerative eye condition that I will probably need surgery on in the future, and I really wasn’t comfortable driving while going blind.

So…a grand total of 2 years later after countless visits to doctors and eye specialists, my eye sight is under control and I have gotten the OK to take the drivers test. I took it and I passed with flying colors.  Later on my dad called to put me on the insurance and it cost a whooping $300 for 6 months.  So. I have  a problem. How do I obtain this $300?  tHE $300 is only for a few months. Getting a job is almost close to impossible right now…I’m thinking of selling the car and going cheaper. Should I?

Your Questions Answered

How about posting a picture of yourself?

I don’t think that’s really a question, lol, but I’m guessing your question is more along the lines of “why don’t you post more pictures of yourself  on your blog?” I really don’t like taking pictures of myself. For one, I’m not a very photogenic person and  I look totally different  in photos than I do IRL (in real life). I also have a lazy eye that loves to ruin 99.9% of my photos. So I prefer pictures that don’t expose my lazy eye, like this one:

-removed for privacy reasons-

The fact that I’m a horrible self picture taker doesn’t help much either. Half the  time when I try to take a picture of my whole face, I just get an eyeball. And I’d swear (except that I don’t) that I was really trying to take a picture of my entire face in this one:

-removed for privacy reasons-

And then when I do get a picture of my whole face I look like a mad person. Exhibit A:

-removed for privacy reasons-

See? Self photography portraits really aren’t my thing. Which is why you don’t see many pictures of me on my blog.

What is your main purpose in blogging?

My main purpose in blogging is for me to express my thoughts, feelings, and experiences so that I can look back on them 20 years from now and see how far I’ve come in life. I’m very sentimental when it comes to memories so this is just another avenue in which I can document what has happened in my life

If you had to narrow it to 3 things you do with your blog to help bring in more readers, what would you say they were?

First, I am an advocate of K.I.S.S. – Keep it Simple Stupid. Keeping my posts short, sweet, and to the point I think really helps. I try to leave out unnecessary adjectives, and boring things about my day like how I went to the mall to get a new pair of glasses (I did, and I must admit they are FAWESOMETASTIC!), because they are boring and not worth writing about.

Secondly, I try not to blog about the same stuff and change it up from post to post. I’m not to sure I actually do this very well, but I try.

And last but not least, I try to post on a semi-regular basis. Of course right now posting is irregular, but i have noticed when I do post regularly it keeps readers coming because they know there will always be something new the next time they visit.

What do you love best about photography?

The thing I love best about photography is how a simple change in camera settings, composition or even the perspective can completely change the perception of the photo. I wish I was actually good at it.

What is your favorite article of clothing?

Shirts are most definitely my favorite article of clothing. I’m not that into fashion (I’m still very tomboyish and STILL hate shopping), but a nice shirt can do so much for an outfit. Speaking of shirts, I have recently bought about 20 nice shirts (trust me, before I was basically wearing the same shirt in about 14 different colors…not good) within the past 2 weeks as a small and necessary gift to myself. And although I haven’t bought new pants, these shirts will make it look like I have a whole new wardrobe.

If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?

Pretty much anywhere overseas. Backpacking Europe is a dream of mine, and I actually plan on doing so in a year or two (provided that nothing major in my life happens). I was about to post a blog entry about my backpacking plans but then I forgot, thanks for the reminder.  I’m also thinking about joining the Peace Corps.

If money was no option, and you had to be selfish and buy yourself one thing you wanted, not needed, what would you buy for yourself?

A Steinway Grand Piano. These babies range from tens of thousands of dollars to millions. It doesn’t even have to be new…as long as it has the beautiful tone of a steinway I will be happy. I am seriously thinking that a Steinway may be my first major purchase after I graduate college. I guess I haven’t really emphasized how important music is to me and how much joy I find in playing the piano. But really, it’s my #1 hobby. It’s my life. And a steinway would make me life complete. Maybe I should include a few more piano posts, but since my home electric piano is on it’s last limbs, I might just have to wait until I go to school.

What countries have you visited?

Off the top of my head I’ve visited: the US, England, Ireland, Scotland, Whales, Germany, France, Sweden, Japan, China, Guam (If that counts), Wake Island(if that counts), North & South Korea. In no particular order. Of course I probably have missed a couple since some places I visited when I was very young.

What type of camera/lens/camera equipment do you use?

The DSLR I use is a Nikon D60 with a 50mm f1.8 lens. For my point and shoot I use a Canon something-something or other. I forgot what exactly, and I can’t find it right now. But canons make the best Point and shoots in my opinion, while Nikon makes the best DSLRs.

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

This is a very simple answer if the formula (W + I) * C is used. Where W represents the constant of wood, which is well known to be 61, as documented in many scientific journals. “I” is the variable in the equation, and represents the word “if”. I = one of the circumstances with 0 equaling the chance that the woodchuck cannot chuck wood, 1 being the theory that the woodchuck can chuck wood but chooses not to, and 2 standing for the probability that the woodchuck can and will chuck wood. Clearly, we must choose 2 for use in this equation. C = the constant of Chuck Norris, whose presence in any problem involving the word chuck must there, is well known to equal 1.1 of any known being, therefore the final part of this calculation is 1.1. As is clear, this appears to give the answer of (61 + 2) * 1.1 = (63) * 1.1 = 69.3. However, Chuck Norris’ awesome roundhouse kick declares that all decimal points cannot be used in formulas such as this, and so it must be rounded to the final solution of 69 units of wood.

I am curious to know if you were homeschooled? You have made reference to it, and I was wondering if you were, do you think it was beneficial to you, or a hinderance?

Nope I’ve never been homeschooled. I have attended a variety of schools though: Public, Private, American, British, International, Military.  My education was definitely a benefit especially the education I received while living in Asia. It really helped me prepare for college since it seems more is expected of students in Asia.

If you could make a movie about yourself, who would play you, your significant other, your best friend, and your enemy?:)

Wow. Talk about a hard question. Hmm, let me think…For me I’d probably pick the lead character from Akeelah(sp?) and the bee. I guess I kinda feel like my life is a little similar to Akeelah as depicted in the movie.

My best friend “K” would probably be played by the infamous Journee Smollett (The girl on the great debators) probably because my best friend has a lot of personality and loves to talk.

I don’t have a “significant other” although Nick Cannon had great potential before he married Mariah Carey .

Also I don’t have any enemies…at least I don’t think so.

If you could travel anywhere where would you go?

Antarctica only because I know very few people go there, and besides the subzero temperatures, lack of vegetation, and lack of internet, it seems fun enough.

list top 5 things you’d like to do before you die?

1. Get married
2. Have Kids
3. Visit everywhere I’ve lived
4. Buy a Steinway
5. Play in an orchestra

Haha, I hope I’m not too late and my question is totally lame, BUT what is one food you absolutely refuse to eat? Like, if someone forced you to eat it, your relationship with that person would be in jeopardy…okay, maybe not that hardcore. But seriously, your NUMBER ONE LEAST FAVORITE food. Go!

LOL! This is easy. Chitterlings.  Just in case you didn’t know, according to wikipedia:

Chitterlings (often pronounced /?t??tl?nz/ and sometimes spelled chitlins or chittlins in vernacular) are the viscera intestines of a pig that have been prepared as food. In various countries across the world, such food is prepared and eaten either as part of a daily diet, or at special events, holidays or religious festivities.  They are nasty and they stink to high heavens

Okay maybe I added that last part.

Most memorable moment. Go.

I have a lot of memorable moments. But I guess the most memorable would be the events that took place on September 11th, 2001 (well really September 12th for me). Just two weeks earlier my mom had been working in the our nation’s capital. But luckily for my family, we  had just moved to a subtropical Japanese island a couple weeks prior.

School had just started, but my attendance was sporadic from  September 1- September 12 due to inclement weather. You see, the island got hit by a typhoon (this typhoon had hurricane Katrina beat!) which literally circled the island three times, as depicted in this picture I stole borrowed from wikipedia:

On the night of September 11th, 2001 at around 11:00pm I woke up to the howl of typhoon winds feeling that something wasn’t quite right.  I went back to sleep and at 4:00am (September 12th) I got up and knocked on my parents door to see if we’d have school the next day. Surprisingly they were not asleep.  They showed me what was happening on the news.   We didn’t have school for along time after that and we (Americans) weren’t allowed to go around the island for even longer.  When we finally were able to go out a couple months later, the locals  were excited to see us.  Many would run up to us and just say “I’m sorry”. Yes, the very same country we had dropped atomic bombs on showed compassion to say sorry, for something they didn’t even do.  September 11th changed my life forever.

I so hope i won’t regret this

In the interest of allowing my readers to learn more about me as a person, rather than me as a blogger, I am dedicating this post to answering questions. Any question you want as I fear nothing, and will show anything. So no matter how rude, irrelevant, or personal the question is, I will try my best to answer it. Feel free to ask more than one question but no more than three. I will answer the questions in the next post.

Happy questioning.

The Highlight of My Day

So I’m sure you noticed: I’m busy. Life has handed me a few lemons, so I’m busy making lemonade!  I haven’t been publishing posts like I use to, and I don’t have time to visit blogs like I once did. I’m hoping that this will change fairly soon, but that is not promised. So for now I am recycling one of my posts from when my blog was brand-spanking new. Lame? Yes. Do I care? Nope!

I know I am making a big deal about this. But every time I get a sandwich with mayonnaise it goes over board. The cafeteria ladies grab a spatula and literally scoop the mayo out of a 5 gallon tub and slap it on both pieces of bread. Seriously what are they thinking? Can you say gross? I normally get a paper towel to wipe off the excess.

So today,after eating 1000 over-mayo-ed sandwiches (I don’t even think I’m exaggerating unfortunately), for the first time the lady asked if I wanted mayonnaise on one side or two. That made my day! This sandwich had the perfect amount of mayonnaise .

Too bad the fries were inedible and hard enough to make a pagoda.

Hard Fries + Boredom = Pagoda

I hate shopping

Sorry for the lack of posting. My days in Indiana are getting short and I will soon be heading home next week. Anyway back to the scheduled post:

Normally I save my shopping for off hours, where I’ll only have to deal with a bare minimum of morons. Not so today, oh no! I had officially run out of food, and although I hated to admit it, I needed to go to Walmart so I wouldn’t starve. To make matters worse, I hate shopping. Or rather, I hate when other people are shopping at the same time I am. While shopping at Walmart, after pushing and shoving and cursing my way over to the groceries, I was pleased to see that the shelves were almost wiped clean. Great! Gotta love Walmart!

I quickly gave up on the idea of looking at other things, and got into one of the mammoth lines. I stood in the back of the line. I looked at my watch. I continued to stand in the back of the line. The line did not move. The line continued to not move. I soon realized what was holding the line up. It’s the #1 thing that irks me while I’m shopping. There are dozens of people who would love to check out and go home; but it seems every once and a while someone has the bright idea to conversate with the cashier. Why? WHY?

I stood in that line for 30 minutes, afraid to lose my spot. If I had known it was going to take me 30 minutes to check out, I seriously would have contemplated ordering Papa Johns for the rest of the week. Once I got done paying for my groceries, I had to go past Ruth. Ruth is the receipt checker, she is located at every Walmart. If there is anything in your cart outside of a bag Ruth NEEDS to see your receipt. This makes for another long line to exit the store. It baffles me that people wait in line to LEAVE Walmart. So I personally gave little, mean, old Ruth heart palpitations: I walked right out.

As I said. I hate shopping. But I digress.

Protected: Dear Readers, I need to vent

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Indiana Jones

So I mentioned I am currently out of town for the next 7 weeks or so. I guess I should provide a little more details. I know all this ambiguity is killing ya.  I am in Indiana.

Well, I flew in last weekend into this immaculately furnished apartment.

I was delighted that the sheets made of, what appears to be a thin layer of cheap itchy felt!!

Oh boy are the nights just lovely. Especially with the lows dipping into the forties at times. The sheets are just the perfect way to stay warm!

I know you love what we have done with the place. (Yes I am being sarcastic!)

Well what am I doing here? To be honest I don’t know. I just got paid $1,000+ to sleep in all day and wander around my new temporary home. I should have “work” to do sometime this week…maybe. But that’s what they said last week.  Either way I’ve gotten to meet a great group of new friends and here is approximately a third of the group (nope I’m not in that picture )

I kind of enjoy being paid to be earth friendly (i.e. laying in bed all day instead of polluting the environment by driving around in a car, heck i even use less oxygen by staying calm, cool, and collected beneath my warm itchy covers, while playing sims3)

Yes, I promise to take more pictures, but please bear with me. I’m still getting over the lack of my Nikon and the lack of my new lens (which I have heard has FINALLY arrived at my house safe and sound!)

Home Sweet Home

I arrived home and everyone is happy to see me. Everyone wants a lot of my time before I go off in about a week to a research program in another state.

I was going to introduce my family to my blog, but I’ve been somewhat hesitant. I like the comfort of blogging anonymously. I was going to tell my mom first, she’d probably be the most intrigued. But then I realized she might not know what a blog was:

Me: Mom, do you happen to know what a blog is?
Mom: Is it like that Chuck Norris stuff?

WTF??? I knew this conversation could get interesting and

Me: No mom. I’m referring to the internet.
Mom: Ohh…
Me: So what about Twitter?
Mom: Is it like when you get cold and you start shaking?

This was getting too good.

Me: Do you know what facebook is?
Mom: Is it some type of cat?

Needless to say I didn’t want to overwhelm her and say I have a blog. She’d probably go into describing some internet horror stories she has heard. And continue by telling me how dangerous the internet could be and how I could be kidnapped.

Reason #242934 I can’t wait to get off campus.

The cafeteria food.

I’d swear they’re trying to poison me…

…except I don’t swear.   Every time I eat in my schools cafeteria I get stomach pains.  Some days they aren’t that bad but other days they are intense.

I’ve lost over 10lbs since Freshman year.  The freshman 15 DOES NOT EXIST AT MY SCHOOL!!! They feed us stuff that dogs wouldn’t eat (I’ve seen it).

If you think I’m over exaggerating. Think again.  I have never been more serious about a health hazard in my life.  They ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Un dia mas.
One more day.

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