This whole not-posting-much thing is crap. I've only got a short time left (less than two months c-c-c-crazy!) and tons more to share. Therefore, I'm officially (well, as officially as a posting on a personal blog will allow) making February Lauren Blog Posting Month -- or LaBloPoMo -- for all the cool kids to start using. As with November and as the title suggests, I shall post a blog every day in February. OH YES, I SHALL.

In other news, I should be sleeping right now but I'm not. Thankfully had a cancellation for tomorrow though -- a double private lesson with this student who also takes French lessons and apparently goes to Paris a million times a year who just won't focus so everything he says is this insane amalgamation of a little English, a little more Japanese, and mostly French. I like the guy, but he kind of thinks he's le shit. Sometimes I answer him back in French but he doesn't seem to notice and/or care that he's not the only person in the world who knows a touch of francais. The point is I'm using the energy I would have used in those two hours with him right now playing mah jongg and listening to music and...general mucking about. Oh such coffee will be needed though.

Also! Trip to China is reserved. Booya.

Also also! I didn't go to Tokyo to do that video thing. I accidentally made plans for Monday awhile back not realizing it was the same weekend and whathaveyou and work has been tiring and the flight prices went up and blah blah blah.

Also also also, I was looking into going to a concert in Tokyo next month but it's pretty much impossible to go about getting tickets. Lame.

Also ALSO also also...what's that you ask for? Another Japanese band from the 80s that Lauren is obsessed with? OKAY! It's a sickness, really. I must be stopped. But before then, The Stalin:

Holy freaking mackerel.



It's been a crazy/amazing (cramazing!?) couple weeks and even though I haven't had a proper night's sleep in what seems like forty years, it's only because of the pretty bitchin' life I currently lead, so I don't mind much. And what happens when Lauren is too lazy/exhausted (lazxhausted!?) to relay all of the dirty details? A LAZXHAUSTED LIST. So here's what I did:

1. Started saying bitchin' more times in a day than is acceptable.
2. Tried to get all my graduate school application elements together before leaving to go back home and failed miserably.
3. Had a few panic attacks at the SEA-TAC airport after my flight to Denver was canceled which resulted in my crying more times than I ever have in public and JUST WANTING TO GO HOME more than I ever have and eventually doing so twelve million hours later.
4. Saw many but not all of the people I wanted to see for roughly three seconds each.
5. Started being really dramatic about expanses of time.
6. Ate goooooood food.
7. Became even more grateful than I already was for my amazing family and friends and boyf.
   
8. Never ever slept.
9. Left America sadly but came back to Japan with a cousin in tow happily.
10. Worked one exhausting, pointless day before the weekend.
11. Went to Tokyo with said cousin on said weekend and reveled in amazingness.
12. Decided on my motto for 2008 - "Art, running, music, listening." It comes with an explanation, but I won't bore you.
    
13. Almost missed two flights by trying to be too Japanese and only checking in 30 minutes before a domestic trip. (NEVER AGAIN.)
14. Went to a coworker's farewell party and sang more out of tune at karaoke than I ever have before - a fantastic, unthinkable feat.
15. Thought my Saturday was going to be horrible but was proved wrong because of some great classes and students.
16. Made a delectable breakfast burrito this morning.
    
17. Somehow pulled together the remainder of my grad school app stuff (except for the choosing of my writing samples which I'm going to do in exactly 14 minutes but I needed a break get off me).
18. Listened to a guilty pleasure song four thousand times (including right now) that I will never, ever reveal.
19. Decided to make instant mashed potatoes before picking out those writing samples.
    

And that's all.

OH! Actually, I also got a general e-mail from the guy who made one of my favorite online videos ever:



I first saw his dancing video years ago and read all his travel-blogs and such and have always checked back in to his goings-on because I think what he did was cool and it interests me. Anyway, he got sponsored, made another video, and is in the process of making an additional one. Because I live in a place not America I signed up for an update just in case he ever came to Japan since his next video is about people not places or some shit. ANYWAY the point is he's going to be in Tokyo on January 27th and I COULD potentially go be in the video he shoots for that, dancing a crazy dance, for no reason at all (which is probably the best reason) SO SHOULD I GO!?

The responsible part of me says NAY because a) I just went to Tokyo last weekend, and b) I want to go to China next month so I need to save money, and c) is it silly?

The irresponsible part of me say HELLZ YAY because a) come on, how cool! (unless it's silly is it silly!?) take a chance and be crazy and b) I could fly there for pretty cheap, like less than two hunskies (that's Polish for $200) and totally still have enough to throw down for Cland and c) I loved Tokyo and would not mind going back at all, especially if I could finagle a friend into coming with me.

Your 2c, plz.

PS - It was bitchin' to see all of you that I did see and not so bitchin' that I didn't see those of you who I didn't but soon enough our time shall come. !!!
PSS - HOW IN THE HELL IS IT ALREADY JANUARY 14TH. ???

Well, on my side of the world, Christmas is nearly over! It was very traditionally Japanese Christmas in that I worked. And as evidenced above, I've also got a nasty cold! But worry not, I'm about to curl up with some hot chocolate and Prancer. Merry Christmas everyone! I love you very much and I'll see a lot of you very soon. Yes!

Lauren decided it was time for a Christmas tree.

And lo, the Christmas A-Series Swinging Christmas Tree, Gold it was. She laughed in the face of the poor fool who bought into the B-Series Non-Swinging Silver. Ho ho ho, ha ha ha!


JOY. Now for the unpacking and assembly. Ooo, shiny! So shiny, in fact, that Lauren was distracted for a full twenty minutes before unpacking the remaining effects.


Whatever shall she do? So complicated! So many pieces! So much construction to be done! Vex, vex, vex.


But Hallelujah! Pictographical instructions!


After consultation of instructions and a few calls with a contractor, up went the A-Series Swinger...


...and HARK! The spirit of the season officially started in Japartment-land! There was much rejoicing.

But did it actually swing?


And yes, Lauren was listening to Genesis throughout the building of her A-Series Swinging Gold Christmas Tree. Who better than to get one in the Christmas mood than Phil Collins?

in the cold december rain

Just got in from Christmas shopping, and boy are my arms tired! Wait...that's not right.

Anyway, it was p-p-p-pouring last night and windy windy windy. Here' s what my balcony had to say about it:



I had it on that one spot so long because I was waiting for a train go by because the rain plus wind plus train noise was pretty cool but it didn't happen. Not sure why the lights in my neighborhood look so green either. Perhaps I'm residing in a radioactive area! Crap. It would explain the third eye I've been sporting lately. Huh? What? I'm going to bed.

Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon" has come up in my life thrice today, on unrelated occasions. That's gotta mean something.

Also, I've been having urges to read the Little House on the Prairie books.

And finally, I at last faced my fears of bumps and holes and tried some bubble tea. The tea part was delicious but those little balls of tapioca at the bottom still freak me the beep out.



Loving would be easy if your colors were like my tea - red gold and green, red gold and gree-he-he-een...

sockspicious

It's the last day of National Blog Posting Month and I'm going to celebrate by writing about socks.

Most of the time, after I've finally convinced myself to do laundry (about once every two months), I won't hang my socks up to dry on the balcony with my other clothes as I don't have enough clothespins to clamp all of them down so they don't fly off the back of my building when a strong wind hits (which I've witnessed happening...twice). Instead I put them on the back of my chair, like so*:



Usually I don't sit in my chair when my socks are drying -- I like to give them their space to air out, and besides, they're cranky when they're wet. Because of that, and because I did my laundry right before I went to bed last night, I was quite surprised to notice their position upon waking (and some milling about):



IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE TRYING TO CRAWL DOWN THE CHAIR.

Stripey: I can't take this anymore! I'm blowin' this popsicle stand fellas!
Confetti-y: Yeahs! No kiddings! Let's bail!
White and blackey: Right behind yous guys. Tell that Lauren to go suck a lemon!

I have no idea how it happened. I also have no idea why my socks have the accents of 1920's New Jersey gangsters. I obviously either sat in the chair or bumped it or something but I've no recollection of that happening and besides I noticed it pretty soon after getting up.

And I thought I was doing them a favor by allowing them to dry inside. Puh. I showed them who's boss and balled their sock asses up and put them where they belong: on lock down in the state draweratentiary.

*photo taken retroactively