Uff What A Day

Such busy and exhausting day today.

I worked solidly from 7am-1pm, with no break...and no breakfast.

Then when I was done, it was straight to my Japanese lesson - I was running late, so I had no time for lunch either.

I got home about 5pm and just had time to pick something up from the conbini before I had to get down and prepare for my private class this evening. I hate that my girl smokes so much - it means that we always sit in the smoking section and I always end up reeking. And I only washed my hair this morning! >_<

Now I'm back home and absolutely knackered. I had to prepare for a presentation that I have tomorrow, so I couldn't even kick back and relax. Now it's nearly 10.30pm and if I knew I wouldn't wake up at some stupid time in the morning, then I would go straight to bed. 

No day off this week either....just makes those 2 days off that I have next week even more special!

xoxo

Halloween

Am I the only one that has absolutely ZERO interest in Halloween?

If it wasn't for all the decorations and pictures up on Facebook, I probably wouldn't have even acknowledged that it was Halloween.

All I can think about when I think about the 31st October is "WOW - I can't believe we're in November already!!"

Absolutely crazy.

Only a month to go until the JLPT. A lot can happen in a month and I'm so determined to put my mind to it. I'm still feeling so tired with work - it always seems to be one thing after another - this holiday in December will be very, VERY welcomed. 

Still so much of the world to see and not enough time (or money) to do it. I'm on the verge of booking my flight to Hawaii...but it's like nerves keep getting in the way. Am I doing the right thing?! And then the other half of me is telling myself to just GO FOR IT and see what happens. 

Don't you just love listening to the little devil on your shoulder sometimes!!

xoxo

Of Course

My goodness me - time absolutely flies when you have a day off.

Of course.

I'm looking forward to the day when I can actually just sleep without having to wake up to an alarm. Sure, I could've done that today, but there was just too much that I needed to get through.

Up bright and early, I jumped straight in and did a whole load of laundry. Today was the PERFECT day for it - super sunny and windy, so I managed to get most of it dry super fast. In between, I was studying and trying to finish up the backlog of work that I had from one school. I finished my course at that school today. It was a real dilemma whether to continue or not, but I decided not to, just because I wanna take the time to review what I already know instead of constantly moving forward and never having the time to review. Plus, this school is super expensive and whilst I feel that I have learned a lot, at this point in time, I don't feel like it would be worth it to continue. I am thinking about going back next year to prepare me for the N2 test which I'm gonna take again next summer...even if I pass it this year.

After the class, I went and paid a whole load of bills. Still got more to go - I swear I'm paying too much tax, but that's what you get when you work a shit load and then it pays off....just not in every way! Then it was back to the books - I'm trying to focus more now on learning vocab instead of just focusing on vocabulary - it kills me the number of times that I look up the same word over and over again. Ergh!

I made an awesome dinner tonight too - I was gonna make brownies but then I decided not to because I figured they would end up being my dinner. And seeing how I haven't been to the gym for absolutely MONTHS (well - to the studio anyway), that DEFINITELY wouldn't be a good idea.

I am so outta shape it's not even funny. I'm hoping to get back into the studio this weekend. I say that to myself every week, but this time I mean it. I need a release from work and study - it feels like that's all I do these days and that's just nto good enough.

Really disappointed today as well - I was supposed to be going on a road trip up to Yamagata with my girl next month, but she mailed me today to tell me that she can't get the time off work because she's having time off this month.Tight arses! I'm gonna look at other options before I decide to put a schedule in at work - a little break is exactly what I need! Even if I dont' go anywhere...or if I don't go far....it would defintiely be a welcome rest.


xoxo

Nom Nom

It was so weird today.

I was at work and I suddenly became completely overcome by this mammoth craving for a double cheeseburger from MacDonalds.

WHAT?!

i know - it was so weird. I literally could not stop thinking about it for hours! When my shift was up, I went to an appointment and then was impatient as hell on the train ride back home. When I got to Nakano-sakaue, I was on the verge on running to Maccy D's.

And then when I got in there....I ended up ordering a Big Mac!

Huh?!

I don't even like Big Mac's! I don't know what I did that for! And then I realised I wasn't even that hungry and made a half arse attempt to eat the chips. Of course I scoffed the lot, but I left very dissatisfied!

HAHA!

What was that all about?!

xoxo

*Rubbing Eyes*

I couldn't get up for the life of me this morning.

I got a mail and heard my flatmate clambering around which woke me up at 7am. My alarm was set for 8.30 but when it went off, I just rolled back over and went back to sleep. When I woke up it was 10.

I probably would have made more of an effort to get up and go to the gym, but when I realised that I hadn't washed my swimming costume - well, that made the whole thing redundant! LOL! So I just hung out and made a half arsed attempt to do my Japanese homework before heading out to my class in the afternoon. Not before knocking back an energy drink though!

Really productive class - it was like a mammoth review JLPT style of all the N3 grammar that I caught up on. Smashed it - another sign that I definitely made the right decision to take N2 this year. even though I haven't studied for it, I know that taking N3 would be a waste of time. It doesn't mean anything either. 

I feel like I could sleep for a week.

xoxo

So Tired!!

What a huge kerfuffle trying to book a flight to Laos turned out to be.

It's not one of those destinations that easy to get to from Japan - especially not around Christmas time. Email correspondence was proving to be a right pain in the arse and becoming too confusing, so after my (hardcore) Japanese class this morning, I decided to drop into a different branch and start from scratch.


It's amazing how much smoother and faster you can get things done face-to-face. It's definitely been a lesson to not leave things to the last minute - we're certainly paying the price for that. Anyway, everything's all booked and now I can focus on getting excited about seeing the STUNNING waterfalls in Luang Prabang! YAY! If you haven't seen them or don't know what the hell I'm talking about, then google it. And then be jealous! HAHA!


xoxo

Bring on 2012!!

OMG I am soooo pumped for next year.

I'm telling ya now - it's gonna be a HUMUNGOUS year for travel.

I'm kinda getting to the point where I'm like thinking that I'm hitting my last chances to travel before I settle down into a career. So screw saving - I'm going for it!

On the cards....

I'm gonna start by seeing in the New Year in Laos. Once that's done, I only have Brunei and Burma left and then I've travelled all of SE Asia. I was supposed to go to Laos when I went to Thailand and Cambodia 3 years ago, like everyone does, but there were loads of issues with the flight times that would have left me only 1 day there. Totally not the time that such a beautiful country deserves.

Then in February, I'm planning to head back to Miami....and THE MOTHER******* CARIBBEAN!!!! Back to the motherland baby!! 

Where did that come from?

You know I told me about my friend who decided to move back to S. Africa for a guy? Well, I'm not doing the same thing but I've kinda taken that as motivation to see if there was really anything there with the guy that made me drop my ice cream on my last night in Miami last year. I haven't been able to get that fine specimen out of my head and it's a step I wanna take to see if there REALLY was all that magic there....or whether it was a case of one perfect last night in Miami. It's so much cheaper to get to Miami and then try and book a cruise or flight from there instead of trying to go directly from Japan and be travelling for like 36 hours. No thank you!

Next, is definitely a trip to Hawaii. In my job, day in and day out, I hear people tell me how beautiful Hawaii is. I need to see it for myself. And cross it off the list of course!! ;-)

I haven't quite decided what the plan for GW is yet. I want to go back and hit up the northern part of Vietnam. When I went, I only went to Saigon (HCM) and I feel that I may have missed some of the best bits of the country. You know I'm not normally keen on going back to the same place twice, but it would be a different part and definitely a very different experience to when I went there a few years ago.

And then I'm definitely planning on taking that birthday trip to Guam that I was gonna do this year. Just 4 days to chill out and relax. Nice.

After that it's back to the UK for the Olympics. If the Olympics weren't in London, then I would definitely wait and go back for Christmas but I LOVE the Olympics and the time difference just isn't going to cut it with me.

Then it's on to what was supposed to be this year's plan for Christmas - New Zealand. In a way, I am so sad that i didn't think to book that ticket sooner because it means that I won't see my gorgeous, lovey friend who I miss so, so, SO much. But it's just too much. Definitely going to be more on point and organized next year.

Wow - writing that all down, I'm really wondering how I'm going to afford to go everywhere. The first 6 months of the year are going to be absolutely crazy! Even if everything doesn't go exactly to plan, you know I'm damn well gonna try! HAHA! I just feel like even if I spend every single penny I have on travelling - it's completely worth it! I know I'll just have to work my arse off a little bit harder in between. At the same time, i can't lose sight of my end goal and neglect my Japanese study. So it's just gonna be about finding that balance.


Super excited! This is just gonna be so, so amazing and I really can't wait to share these wonderful experiences with special people.


Just a quick shout out (which I NEVER do on here) to thank J.B for being such an AMAZING travel buddy!! I couldn't ask for anyone better! =)


xoxo

Even Madder!!

You know what, yeah...

I went to bed at 10.30pm last night.

10.30!!!!

My theory was that today I was supposed to work a split shift and study in the middle. It would be a longer day than usual, so I figured if I went to bed super early, then I'd be all set and ready to go.

I got woken up at like 3.30am by some commotion going on outside which really pissed me off. I got up to look out of the window and I suddenly was overcome by a wave of nausea. Thinking it was just because I was tired and up to early, I got back into bed. But you know me - super light sleeper. It took me AGES to get off again.

When my alarm went off at 5.15am I felt absolutely awful. Dry retching and nauseous as hell. NO I AM NOT PREGNANT!!! I got into the shower but when I came out, I was feeling light headed...and then it was all over. I'll spare you the details.

My stomach still hurts. It feels like it's just full of acid and lying down seems to make it worse. So I've had to spend the day trying to sleep sitting up which, of course, totally didn't work.

Why today?!?! When I had so much study that I wanted to do.

So annoyed! 

It just goes to show that going to bed early is definitely NOT good for your health!!

xoxo

So Mad!!!!!

I was having such a great day until I tried to get home after my Japanese lesson.

I went to the gym for a killer aqua dance class - no joke - my legs were CANING when I was walking home. 

Got home, made some lunch, did a little study and then headed out to my Japanese class. It went so well today as I FINALLY caught up on all that N3 grammar and absolutely aced the test that she gave me. Even she said that even though I have no N2 grammar, it would be a waste of time taking N3 this year. Another little confidence boost that all this money that I'm spending on these lessons is defintiely paying off.

After the lesson, I actually planned to go to Starbucks and study all afternoon, but I realised that I had forgotten my wallet so I decided to head back home. When I got to Yoyogi, the train didn't leave the station and no one could understand what the guy was announcing on the speakerphone because he was mumbling so much. I asked the people around me what was going on, and no one seemed to know anything. After about 5 minutes, a whole load of people got off, but seeing how the train on the other platform had just pulled out, I decided to stay put. I mean, it's my day off and whilst it's not the best way to spend it, I didn't need to rush to be anywhere, so I just pulled out my books and studied. 20 minutes later, nothing had happened, but by that point I had become pretty defiant - I kept thinking that the second I decided to get off the train, the doors would close and it would move off. 

An hour passed and I was just mad. I didn't wanna waste any more of my time - especially when days off are so rare for me - so I just gave up and went to see what was going on. I got upstairs and the station guy told me that someone had fallen onto the tracks at Nerima. Jumped more like!

That REALLY annoys me about this city. If you wanna kill yourself, why don't you go and do it somewhere else? In your house? Go drown in the sea? Jump off a cliff? Why the hell do you want to inconvenience a whole damn city?! So selfish! I was so pissed off that I could see the smoke coming from my ears. I mean, who do these people think they are that they can hold up other people. Grrrrr....

So I ended up having to go to Ikebukuro and then getting the Seibu line home from there. No biggie - I was just annoyed that I had waited it out so long and then had to give up anyway! I was so tired by the time I got home that I couldn't be bothered to study so I had to give in to starting Cycle 15 of ANTM! HAHA!

I'll make up for it tomorrow though - I'm working a split shift so it's gonna be a long day, but I'm gonna use that time in the middle to do all the studying that I was supposed to do today.

Selfish, selfish people.

xoxo

Progress, Progress

I am super chuffed at the progress I'm making with my Japanese study.

I told you before that when I applied to take N2, I had tried the past exam and got 48%.

The other day, I tried the same exam again and got a whopping 72%!!!!!! 

I was so shocked I had to check my score 3 times!

And again, I didn't answer anything that I didn't know the answer to - which is why the result stunned me. 

The weird thing about it - and what is stumping my Japanese teachers - is that when I'm looking at each grammar point or kanji on it's own, I don't have a clue. Put it in context and I'm all over it. Weird huh?

Regardless of the score I get this year, I'm still gonna take it again next year.

Good stuff!

xoxo

Ufffff

When I was on the train on my way home from work today, I was just absolutely dumbstruck by the complete incompetence of the mother sitting opposite me.

She was there with 2 kids - there was a little boy in a pram and then a girl sitting next to her. The boy was already snivelling when I got on, but then the lack of attention from his mother (who looked like she wanted to kill herself) set him off WAILING. 

Now for me, the sound of a baby crying is single handling the most stressful noise in the world. But this level of wailing was on the verge of sending me over the edge as the mother did NOTHING but just watch her kid in the pram. She didn't even touch him, let alone pick him up and try to settle him. EVERYONE was just staring at her, giving her the why-the-fuck-aren't-you-doing-anything look, which she just chose to ignore. 

Seriously?!?!

I don't know what it is about Japanese mothers, but they don't seem to have any concept about what kind of behaviour is socially acceptable in public. If I even snivelled in public, I was smacked and then felt the full force of the wooden spoon when I got home for embarrassing my mother in public. The lack of discipline in this country is just shocking. This kind of thing would never go down in England.

After about 10 minutes of this racket, I tutted, shook my head at the woman and then got up to move carriages. As I was about to walk off, I saw an older lady basically lay into her and then at the next stop she finally got off and took her brats with her.

On the platform she was just standing there, looking at her wailing son in the pram with as much resentment as she could muster, that I ALMOST felt sorry for the damn thing. Actually, I lied. I totally didn't feel sorry for the brat at all. Not even my kid and I was looking at it with more resentment than she was. 

Drives me crazy!! 

xoxo

4 years

Today is the 4 year anniversary of my nan's death.

4 years but it still hurts like it was yesterday. Yesterday would have been her 89th birthday.

It still hurts so, so much.

She left me a whole load of the most gorgeous jewellery. Everyday before I go to work, I put on a piece and take that split second to remember her and her fabulous retro taste. 


I called my grandad to check that he was OK. They were married for 50 years and he's battling on like a trooper. Funny thing is, he had actually forgotten what day it was today. I guess that's what old age does for you.


I miss her so much.


xoxo

R.I.P

K so I'm not an Apple fan. The only product I own is an iPod and I got that ages after everyone else.

But there's no denying the sheer genius that is Steve Jobs.

How many people can HONESTLY say that they've changed the world?

Well, he certainly did.

May he Rest In Peace.

xoxo

Nyyyyaaaaaa!!!

OMG how ghastly is the weather today?!?!

Not only has it been raining all day, it's sooo cold! (T T) I'd take the heat and humidity any day - although it is nice not needing any air con!

I have had sucha  long day today. When I got outside the door this morning to walk to the gym, I so nearly turned around and went back inside. How proud am I that I DID walk in this horrible weather! Even though I hated every second of it. I then hit up the supermarket and loaded up with fruit and veg goodies before jumping on the subway back home.

Just enough time to put my shopping away, get changed and then head out again to my Japanese class. A long 90 minutes full of challenges to prepare me for a test that I should probably not be taking but am gonna attempt anyway. I just don't have enough time to prepare for it now and am seriously wondering whether I should have registered for N3 instead and just smashed it. Oh well, too late now! Plus, I really do wanna know how much more work I need to do.


After the lesson, it's a quick walk to the station and then off to Omotesando for my Brazilian. Dunno what it is, but everytime that I've had an appointment there, it rains. Something is definitely up with that.


No sooner had I got my clothes back on, I was hurrying back to the station to get to work. 10 minutes before my shift was due to start, I had to get changed and put my make up on, start up the computer and plaster a smile on my face. The latter was definitely the hardest, as all I wanted to do was kick back and relax. 


I told you that I'd been having some issues at work. I reluctantly addressed those today - what will come of it, I'm not sure but we'll see what happens. Now I'm back at home and about to get ready for bed for a 5am start tomorrow.


No day off until next Wednesday. (T T)


Night


xoxo

Doh!

Don't you hate it when you find something that you are seriously good at but there turns out to be a million downsides to doing that one thing full time?

I LOVE training. I think it plays to so, so many of my strengths. And the best bit? I seriously enjoy it. I love creating new training programmes and being part of rewriting and improving old ones. A process that I have been lucky enough to very actively take part in and work very closely with the creators and quality control. It's one of the real highlights of my job.

I enjoy presenting and my presenting skills are developing further and further every month. I love seeing development in the people that I train - it's very rewarding and one of the few moments when I do feel job satisfaction. I just wish that that training could be a bit more hands on. instead of doing it and then handing the job over to branch managers. That makes me feel kinda sad. Different people, different personalities and different approaches could mean that what we tell them in training could very quickly be made redundant.

I don't believe in being subjective. I try to stick to the standard and let people know that what they're doing is great. People forget that it's better to tweak, rather than change. Something that I became a victim of last year. Complete disaster.

I'm gonna be venturing into different territory tomorrow as I attend a training instead of conducting one. We'll see how that goes!

xoxo

TV

I have so gotten back into the flow of watching TV to relax. It's really nice to get back home and when you're just feeling really knackered, to kick back and watch TV.

You all know that I've been slightly obsessed with ANTM as of late. It's just a constant reminder that beauty really isn't enough to make it all the way.

And of course, the new season of Gossip Girl was aired last week with promise of being a seriously juicy season.

Then there's Grey's Anatomy, which I just LOVE. Just makes me happy that I don't have THAT much drama in my own life. There may be a hell of a lot of drama but it's allll good compared to all that other crap that's going on! HAHA!

Tomorrow is a new day. I figured if I could look at it as a kind of new start and just put the stuff that's been bothering me so much a work behind me, then it might be easier to deal with it and move forward. Of course, easier said than done.

I'm trying to work it out now but I'm not sure that it's gonna get anywhere. We'll see though.

xoxo