I'm so excited. Everything is finally coming together and the big day will be here soon. My grandparents, aunt, and a few cousins came down this weekend to see me one last time before I leave. We had a blast, lots of good food, and good company. On Sunday we went shopping for a bunch of new clothes and I got to spend all the money Dad gave me for doing some stuff for him. Whoo!!! =) I think I have almost everything I need. I got the rest of my prescriptions filled this morning. The only things I can really think of that I'm going to have to buy are a 3-barrel curling iron and some "house slippers" according to Steve.
On a less fun note, I've got a horrible cold and am not looking forward to spending 22 hours traveling while sick, so I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Hopefully they give me some antibiotics and maybe some steroids because this cold is affecting my asthma and it's not very fun at all.
I also got some last minute prep stuff for my geckos. I bought them enough food to last the entire time I'm gone and a new light & lightbulbs for Treble's cage. Speaking of pets, I'm really gonna miss Amos. He's my cuddle puppy and I loves him bunches. But going to Japan for 4 months will so be worth it. I can't wait!!!
Till next time,
Toodles =)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Omiyage
I got all my omiyage to take to Japan today. Postcards came in the mail and candies came from walmart. Whooo. I also stocked up on toiletries and other stuff I"m gonna need while I'm gone. 6 more days! Gonna start packing Monday or Tuesday. Whooo!!!! Can't wait! That's all for now. Super short post.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Worry and Stress
Things at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant seem to be escalating out of control. It has me very worried about the status of my trip. I have people left and right lecturing me about not going; when everything I look at says it's still safe for me to go because I'm going to be so far away. Roughly 400 miles. Of course, Chernobyl had radiation spread over a 600 mile radius (luckily, things haven't gotten to be near as bad in Japan).
As of right now, I am still going. Mom has called the school, called the State Department. The school has us registered with the STEP program in case I get there and have to be evacuated. Until they cancel my flight, or detect radiation in Nagoya, I'm going.
My main concern right now, is Steve. I don't want him to get affected by radiation, nor do I want him to come home and lose out on a great experience because of people over-reacting.
I want people to understand that I'm not an idiot. If things are unsafe, I won't go. But until it reaches a point where my health and well-being will be directly affected, I'm going. My graduating with my current major depends upon this trip. I've invested time and money into this trip that I will never get back. And if I don't go, I will lose even more time because I will either have to change my major, or schedule a later trip date to Japan which will put me even further behind schedule for graduating.
On a happier note, my cousin's baby shower is this weekend. I'm super excited. Baby Mason. =) I'm going to miss him being born while I'm in Japan, but can't wait until I get to finally meet him.
As of right now, I am still going. Mom has called the school, called the State Department. The school has us registered with the STEP program in case I get there and have to be evacuated. Until they cancel my flight, or detect radiation in Nagoya, I'm going.
My main concern right now, is Steve. I don't want him to get affected by radiation, nor do I want him to come home and lose out on a great experience because of people over-reacting.
I want people to understand that I'm not an idiot. If things are unsafe, I won't go. But until it reaches a point where my health and well-being will be directly affected, I'm going. My graduating with my current major depends upon this trip. I've invested time and money into this trip that I will never get back. And if I don't go, I will lose even more time because I will either have to change my major, or schedule a later trip date to Japan which will put me even further behind schedule for graduating.
On a happier note, my cousin's baby shower is this weekend. I'm super excited. Baby Mason. =) I'm going to miss him being born while I'm in Japan, but can't wait until I get to finally meet him.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
New Layout
Lori-chan made me a new layout! Isn't it purty? I loves it! I'ma try to learn how to make pretty layouts on the plane if we have time. =)
That's all for today.
That's all for today.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Residence Info!!!
I didn't fall asleep last night until I knew Steve had arrived in Nagoya (he found a Dennys) so I was awake when I got an email from Kinjo with details about where I'm going to be living.
This is where I will be living. Boarding House Y.G. I'm in room 2B; which means I only have to carry my luggage up one flight of stairs. Whoooo! The building is specifically for International Students and has a self-locking entrance.
I get a washing machine, closet, desk, chair, bed, kitchen (complete with cooking utensils and dishes), fridge, microwave, A/C (WHOO!) a "shoe cupboard," bath and veranda. It looks to be pretty decently sized.
Oh, and here's a picture of my kitchen.
My apartment in Japan is going to be cheaper than the apartment Steve, Matt & I lived in on Grant St. Rent is only $370 + $25 for water. I can also pay for internet, which I know I will. The building is about 20 minutes away (I have to walk & take a train) from campus. A 3-month train pass is going to be about $75, which isn't that bad at all. I'm really excited.
Oh! I got my Yakkan Shoumei in the mail today! So everything is finally coming together! Hoorayyyyy!!! I'm going to wait until I get to Japan to get my cell phone. So, pretty much it's a waiting game until I leave. Whooo!
This is where I will be living. Boarding House Y.G. I'm in room 2B; which means I only have to carry my luggage up one flight of stairs. Whoooo! The building is specifically for International Students and has a self-locking entrance.
I get a washing machine, closet, desk, chair, bed, kitchen (complete with cooking utensils and dishes), fridge, microwave, A/C (WHOO!) a "shoe cupboard," bath and veranda. It looks to be pretty decently sized.
Oh, and here's a picture of my kitchen.
My apartment in Japan is going to be cheaper than the apartment Steve, Matt & I lived in on Grant St. Rent is only $370 + $25 for water. I can also pay for internet, which I know I will. The building is about 20 minutes away (I have to walk & take a train) from campus. A 3-month train pass is going to be about $75, which isn't that bad at all. I'm really excited.
Oh! I got my Yakkan Shoumei in the mail today! So everything is finally coming together! Hoorayyyyy!!! I'm going to wait until I get to Japan to get my cell phone. So, pretty much it's a waiting game until I leave. Whooo!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Steve's Departure
It's been a while since my last post, but, honestly, not much has been going on in regards to preparation for Japan; other than watching the news. I pray every chance I get for those affected by the earthquake, aftershocks, tsunami and the nuclear plant problems in Japan right now. We were really worried that this would postpone our departure, but Nagoya is far enough away that we've been told to continue with our current plans. Steve even left early this morning and should be landing in Tokyo in 8 hours or so. I miss him already.
Steve leaving meant lotssss of running around to get him ready to go. He got his Visa Thursday afternoon (boy, did he cut that close [also, I recieved mine a week or so ago, in case I forgot to mention it]) and bought a suitcase Saturday. With buying his suitcase came packing.
We found out from Steve's mother that rolling clothes is very space efficient. Fold in the sleeves of shirts, fold shirt in half lenth-wise, then roll from the collar down as tightly as possible. Fold pants in half, roll. Do this with socks, shorts, etc. It really WORKS! We managed to pack what Steve thought was essential out of his wardrobe, and still had so much space left, we packed a couple more shirts, hoodies, pants, and his winter coat. He still has space left over in his suitcase.
From the looks of it Lauren and I will be allowed to bring 2-50lbs suitcases and a carry-on. The downside, however, is the fact we have to carry our stuff to our rooms in Japan and there are no elevators. So, the lighter the better it seems.
I'm really worried about the nuclear plants in Japan. I really really hope they get everything under control before it adds to the already MASSIVE amount of damage to the country. I hope that I get the chance to perhaps participate in some sort of relief program while I'm over there in order to help those in need.
That's all for today. My check-list is pretty much non-existant right now. I'm just waiting to get my "Yakkan Shoumei." Got my visa. Got my prescriptions filled. Got everything mailed to Kinjo. Oh, I'm also waiting for my laptop (again). I got it back to find it wasn't completely repaired and had to mail it back in. It reached the repair center Friday. I hope I get it back before I leave. In the meantime, I'm using Dad's when I get the opportunity.
Ta-ta for now. Take care. <3
Steve leaving meant lotssss of running around to get him ready to go. He got his Visa Thursday afternoon (boy, did he cut that close [also, I recieved mine a week or so ago, in case I forgot to mention it]) and bought a suitcase Saturday. With buying his suitcase came packing.
We found out from Steve's mother that rolling clothes is very space efficient. Fold in the sleeves of shirts, fold shirt in half lenth-wise, then roll from the collar down as tightly as possible. Fold pants in half, roll. Do this with socks, shorts, etc. It really WORKS! We managed to pack what Steve thought was essential out of his wardrobe, and still had so much space left, we packed a couple more shirts, hoodies, pants, and his winter coat. He still has space left over in his suitcase.
From the looks of it Lauren and I will be allowed to bring 2-50lbs suitcases and a carry-on. The downside, however, is the fact we have to carry our stuff to our rooms in Japan and there are no elevators. So, the lighter the better it seems.
I'm really worried about the nuclear plants in Japan. I really really hope they get everything under control before it adds to the already MASSIVE amount of damage to the country. I hope that I get the chance to perhaps participate in some sort of relief program while I'm over there in order to help those in need.
That's all for today. My check-list is pretty much non-existant right now. I'm just waiting to get my "Yakkan Shoumei." Got my visa. Got my prescriptions filled. Got everything mailed to Kinjo. Oh, I'm also waiting for my laptop (again). I got it back to find it wasn't completely repaired and had to mail it back in. It reached the repair center Friday. I hope I get it back before I leave. In the meantime, I'm using Dad's when I get the opportunity.
Ta-ta for now. Take care. <3
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
New-ish Laptop
Well, My laptop took a nice little tumble down the stairs last week. And was in for repairs. I was positive they were going to replace the entire unit because it was a WRECK. Surprisingly enough, I was wrong and instead they replaced my screen, web-cam, cd/dvd drive, hard drive, and the piece where you plug your cord in (it was loose). Unfortunately, this means I have to completely re-configure my laptop, not fun. I DESPISE Windows. Really, DESPISE it. Spending HOURS configuring it is going to give me a headache and put me in a horrible mood....but it needs done and I'm not quite confident enough to install Ubuntu 10.04 without Steve's assistance. He is moving home from Morgantown, WV today, so I most likely won't get him over here to install Linux for me until tomorrow or later. Ugh.
Reasons why Windows drives me insane.
1) It tries to keep EVERYTHING hidden and secretive so you can't adjust/customize most of it; with Linux, everything is customizable. (AKA I can make everything PRETTY!!!)
2) It's difficult to fix if anything goes wrong; with Linux, I can google my problem and usually have it fixed within the hour.
3) All the crap that comes on a new install of the O/S. I've spent the past two hours simply deleting worthless crap. I can install Linux with only the applications (aka programs) I want.
4) Updates. Windows has been updating for over 2 hours now. It's still not done. I can install Linux in less than an hour and the longest it has ever taken to update in the past year I've been using it is 5 minutes.
5) Cost. If I somehow mess up my O/S and need to restore/reinstall, I can't do that with Windows (unless I mail it in) because they refuse to give me an install disc without paying for it. I can download Linux for free.
Boyfriend, Thank you so very much for introducing me to Linux. I can only contemplate the number of headaches you prevented in the past year. =) And now I'm done with my Windows vs. Linux rant and moving onto Study Abroad stuff.
I finally got my IRCs (International Reply Coupons) in the mail yesterday and was able to send out my Yakkan Shoumei application. Here's to hoping I get the Yakkan Shoumei BEFORE I leave for Japan. Other than that, my to-do list has not changed and I need to get back to working on my laptop. >.< Have a good day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)