me against the world

I’m back from Japan and really out of it.

I traveled for 24 hours and didn’t sleep for 30+. I spent my time on the plane talking to a fast-talking, unable-to-sleep, 9-year-old-girl while everyone else could sleep. Then when I got home, my parents rushed me out the door to go to my cousin’s wedding reception.

And thus, I am really out of it right now.

I just found out that I just barely missed a massive earthquake in Japan that measured in at 7.1 (read the article here). That’s scary because I actually woke up in Kanazawa, which is in the Ishikawa prefecture, and it’s from there that we traveled to Tokyo for our flight home.

It’s also troubling to see all the pictures of destruction because I was just there and it’s such a great place.

*shudders* It’s also scary to think that I could have been there at that time too…

I’m sitting in a tiny hotel room in Hiroshima, stealing wi-fi from some other building because the hotel’s is acting up.

I have so many stories to tell you all but I can’t get into them now. I’m just amazed because I still have a week to go.

Last night we were in Koyasan (or Mt. Koya, if you’re not Japanese). Koyasan is a village full of temples and shrines on top of this huge mountain. It was a very quiet and beautiful place. We stayed in a temple overnight and got up early to attend the prayers.

It was a wonderful experience and the only downside was that it was freezing and us Canadians (who, as we were told by some Australians we ran into, should be used to the cold) did not have any warm clothes with us, so we spent a lot of time shivering. Haha, but every experience is one to remember.

Today, we were in Hiroshima and we visited the Peace Memorial Park and the Museum. The museum talks about Hiroshima before the bomb, during the bomb and after. I was struggling with my emotions the entire time. Of course, as you all know me, I was starting to feel very upset and angry about certain political issues but decided that instead of being angry I should probably think of some way of putting my energy into more positive things. More on that later.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say for now. I’ll blog more about my adventures (including Tokyo, the contest, Mt. Takao, etc) soon.

PS. Sake is very strong and therefore not my cup of tea (ha), Japanese beer rocks (mmmmm), and I have been drinking so much tea that I’m in heaven (woo).

I’m currently sitting outside my gate with a few minutes to go until boarding.

A few of you will be excited to hear that I finally picked up the first three “Harry Potter” books to read during my 13 hour flight. Considering the fact that I really enjoy adventure books, I’ll admit that it’s a little bit strange that I haven’t read them yet. Everyone’s told me that I’m crazy for having not read them yet, and so I figured this flight would be a good time to start.

However, as my dad was driving me to the airport this morning, I realized that I’d forgotten them all on my desk.

So…. yeah. A visit to the airport bookstore was mandatory.

I now have a book full of travel writing pieces (to feed my current obsession) and a copy of Eragon (to sooth my upset soul that was previously very excited about reading a children’s adventure book).

Hopefully I’ll be able to read slow enough for the books to last me the majority of the flight. I doubt it, but hopefully…

That’s all for now. I’ll write from Japan next :)

There’s a lot going on right now but I haven’t been writing. I should be though because I’m sure I could generate some good suggestions and thoughts.

A while back I was having this internal debate about what kind of content I would like to put up on this blog. When I first started blogging on the Internet (many years ago, in the mid-to-late 90s… ha), I would write about anything and everything. Personal or not, it went up - though I was smart enough to exclude names when it was personal. I would write about my day-to-day activities and I don’t know anyone (other than my offline friends) who read it.

Then I took a break from blogging for a very short period, and when I came back, I stopped sharing every piece of information about my daily life. This was mainly because of privacy reasons and because most people would not be interested. So, as my blog is now, I would only write about certain topics, random postings, blog entries written in a specific way to share my thoughts on a certain idea, event, etc.

But I would like to revert to a somewhat personal blog because it helps readers connect and shares more of my daily life. I’ll be able to blog more frequently, and perhaps more interesting entries will pop up as a result.

Somehow, I hope to find that balance because I don’t blog nearly as much as I should and would.

Anyway, what’s going on in my life right now?

I’m leaving for Japan next week. That’s insane and I don’t think I’m ready for it. I’ve got a lot of work to do for it, both professionally and personally. I’m excited for the whole trip though. The contest part will be awesome, and the travel after will be a great experience. I just have a lot to do before I leave…

Instead of doing all the personal preparations I should be doing, I’ve been hanging out with friends and doing other social activities. Over the past few weeks, we’ve gone to the Auto Show, played Lasertag, celebrated my birthday, and I’ve had several random dinner dates. I foresee myself sitting up late on Wednesday night trying to do a lot at once. I am surprised that I still have not made a single list yet about it.

That’s a lie. I did make a list of preliminary stuff like: exchange money, get luggage sorted, book accommodations, and renew passport. But, I still have to do all the other small things: get an extra camera battery and maybe another memory card, install camera software onto the laptop I’m taking, buy the small trinkets (like meds) that I’ll need before I leave, pack, etc.

Anyway, I know the way I am and I know it will all get done without any panicked situations or headaches from the stress.

I’ve also found out that I didn’t get into the upper year residence I applied for, for the next school year. So, I have to go apartment hunting! I know my brother’s landlord is looking for new tenants, so I could possibly end up having my own place in the same building. That’d be interesting!

This Saturday I am going down to London to apartment hunt. I know I could probably find a place later, but I would like to get this over and done with. One of the best things, in my mind, about this own apartment situation is that I can play hostess to whoever I’d like and as often as I’d like. Woohoo!

We’ve had a series of storms over the past two days. Usually I am not that bothered by bad weather, but now that I have to drive a long distance to and from work, it can be frustrating - mostly because of the other drivers. It’s snowing hard as I write this.

Anyway, I need to get back to work. I started writing this entry two days ago and I figured I should just take a break and finish it off.

So now that’s another thing I can cross off my list of things to do.

This weekend I got three doses of Japan:

1) I’m almost done reading “Around the World in 80 Dates” by Jennifer Cox. The book is about travel journalist and author Cox, who realizes that while her work life is great, her love life is horrible. So in an attempt to fix this, she asks friends and friends of friends to help her set up dates all around the world. The book - part travel, part memoir - follows her thoughts as she goes through 80 dates around the world, all in the hopes of finding her Soul Mate.

Anyway, she just dated a few people in Japan and I enjoyed reading about some of the sights to see and things to do in Tokyo. I think I was more interested in reading the details about the area than what her dates were like. Just kinda =)

2) As many people had mentioned that I should watch it before leaving, I watched “Lost in Translation” last night. The movie is about two people in Tokyo who are just lost in their lives and desperately need to be found. I enjoyed the movie for its story, the acting, and also all of the hints as to what to see and do in Japan. As much as I see all these images, I still can’t imagine what it’s going to feel like to be in a car driving through Tokyo and seeing all the bright lights and people.

3) Today I watched all three hours of the mini-series “Kelly Osbourne: Turning Japanese” on Much Music (it originally aired on the UK’s ITV2). Kelly Osbourne is quite the character but I was really pleased with her in this series. I couldn’t help but laugh along with her and be impressed by her determination not to disrespect people and to try and understand. After all of her complaining or uncomfortable moments, she learned to understand. I enjoyed watching her go to different places in Tokyo, work various jobs, and take part in certain activities. Ha, I will never forget the Love Hotel segment. The best part was when she went to Kyoto and entered a Tea House to train with the Maiko for a week. It was great.

Anyway, as a result, I’m really itching to go to Japan and see everything that’s there. I think the biggest thing I’m worried about is being polite enough and not offending anyone. I’m just going to keep saying “sumimasan” (sorry) often to cover my butt :P

The time leading up to this trip has been very interesting for me so far because as part of the projects I’m working on at work, I’ve been reading and writing a lot about Japan, Tokyo, and Japanese history, customs, and traditions. I’ve been reading about things to see and do, talking to people about it, and also going through pictures to get a better idea. After watching both “Lost in Translation” and “Turning Japanese”, I’ve realized that I will definitely be overwhelmed by all that there is to see and do and how different things are in Japan from how they are at home.

It will be an interesting experience for sure. And I’m already beginning to think I’ll have to go back to Japan again in the future to see and do all the things I won’t be able to do this time around.

I kept hearing about this movie and finally picked it up.

And I absolutely love it.

It’s random, it’s touching, it’s funny and it’s raw.

I think it’s the first movie that has ever had me laugh out loud only to start tearing up in the same moment because of how touching a certain scene is.

Brilliant :)