I have a 1200 word essay for Japanese, written entirely in Japanese, that’s due by Tuesday and so far I only have ~40 words down. Last term it was a lot easier since our essays were only 600-750 words long, so the fact that the essay criteria has been doubled, I’m kind of a little stressed. Even though I probably should be working on this I’m not quite feeling it at the moment. With that being said, I figured that if I wrote a quick update – perhaps I could get certain things off of my mind and then be able to finally focus on my essay once again.

So be prepared because here are a plethora of short “FB-like” status updates on the various things currently weighing on my mind:

• After completing my last art piece, I’ve already thought of some new drawing ideas.
• The fact that these drawing ideas are weighing heavily on my mind, I have a strong urge to begin working on them, but with midterms taking place this next week – I know that it would probably be a bad idea since they take up hours of my time.
• My ideas consist of:
  – A blue poison dart frog with an umbrella for a tail
  – A hummingbird with a giant mustache
  – A fly wearing a gas mask
  – A human brain inside a clear jellyfish
  – A giant sperm whale swimming through the clouds
  – An octopus lilypad
  – A reindeer with various flowers and/or plants for its antler
  – A tiger-print or perhaps a zebra-print koi fish
  – A monkey with headphones for ears
  – A dragonfly with propellers on its tail-end
  – I also want to do something with a samurai helmet, a human skull and a ram skull
  – I’d also like to work on something wild consisting of an anatomically correct human heart
• Once I can get all of these down on paper or what-not, I’ll consider working on getting myself into a gallery-showing of all of my work
• May 1st is almost around the corner and I’ll be submitting an application for the Phi Sigma Iota Honor Society for language majors and minors.
  – This is an organization intended for language majors with a GPA above 3.0 and looks great if I choose to continue onwards to a Master’s Degree program
  – It also looks great academically, as it’s a national honor society, and allows me to be eligible for various scholarships as well.
• May 1st also reminds me that I should be graduating with my BA in International Studies with a minor in Japanese (hopefully) by next spring!
• This June, however, my little brother graduates high school, as well – so I’m excited about that as well
  – This is bitter-sweet, however, because it makes me feel OLD!
• For those of you that are unaware, I really enjoy gardening, so I’m looking forward to seeing what I’m able to, and how many different kinds of things I’ll be able to grow this year.
  – So far I’ve planted string beans, green beans, various types of lettuce, cauliflower, carrots, garlic, and tomatoes amongst other things
  – Having chickens roaming my backyard, however, has been more detrimental than I had initially thought, so this summer my backyard will be quite a barren wasteland.
  – Even if I were to plant new things back there, the chickens would either peck at them, all the way down to its roots, or destroy it while it hibernates during the winter.
  – I think I need to consider restraining them to a certain section of the backyard instead of letting them roam free.
  – I also have a lot of perennial flowers that I’m looking forward to watching bloomOne of my neighbors commented about how she loves all the flowers she sees bloom in my front yard, so I’m quite proud of my green thumb (I got it from my grandpa)
• The summer term stresses me out though because the VA and financial aid will not cover my entire cost of classes, so I’m crossing my fingers that I find out that I’ve won some additional scholarships… Time will tell, I guess, otherwise, I may have to take out an unsubsidized student loan.
• I was also asked to be the best man at a friends’ wedding in Montana, which takes place in the fall
  – Thankfully, I already own a brown suit
  – We’re also all carpooling there and back, so I’m totally stoked about that!
  – The wedding is taking place at this really incredible winter retreat/lodge too!
  – I Love these guys :]
• Speaking of the fall, that is also the time when applications for the JET program become available, so I’ll be applying for that as soon as October arrives
• As a secondary back-up plan, I’ll also have to look into studying and working on the foreign service officer test, and then work on preparing for the interview process/stage
• December also brings up the Japanese Language Proficiency Test/Exam which will assist me in acquiring jobs in Japan (if I do well)
• Photography has unfortunately been put onto the back-burner until I find more time for it
  – I would like to continue on with it, but as I find more free time, I’m sure that I’ll get back into it
• With my college graduation being approximately a year away, I’m contemplating running another marathon to mark that milestone
  – I have plenty of time to prepare for it, so it’s just a matter of deciding what I’d like to run next year around this time
• I’m really looking forward to starting a career path again
  – It’s not only about having a more stable income, but having a consistent schedule is ideal as well
  – Having the luxury to purchase various things without worrying about my spending would also be nice
  – Having extra money to save and/or spend traveling would be great, too ;]