chibi_pink's random mumblings

Sorry! I know, I have been slack with updating.

- work is going well. The kids are off next week, so I get a little break from them. Management stuff is going pretty well. Been doing a lot of scheduling and salaries, but hopefully I can get into monitoring and mentoring soon.

- Glen and I got new phones!! His phone is sleek and red, but most importantly, he can use it overseas! So, I an get a hold of him (and his customers can get a hold of him...) when he is away. My phone is lovely and pink. I am discovering new features on it ever day. Yesterday, I found out that the screen has 4 points that can change the TV channels. Maybe I should just read the manual and get all the hints. Here is my phone (in pink, of course).

- Mom sent me a package. <3 <3 She sent me two new summer biz shirts, new shoes (I always love getting new shoes) and.... CAPT CRUNCH!!! Yes, I am slightly addicted, but they don't sell it here.

- On the crafting front, I am nearing the end of my crochet capelet!! Pics will come once it is finished. As for sewing, I finished my tea time corset. It is not bad at all, if I do say so myself. My next sewing project will probably be a sundress.

- Japan is too damn hot right now. A/C is my savior.

seriously the best site of the moment: http://www.disapprovingrabbits.com/ Still trying to convince G to let me get a bunny, but he says I have him to pet and take care of instead. :3 maybe he will let me have a wombat (see: http://wombatcountry.com/mammals/wombats.html) instead?


btw: http://glencandacewedding.shutterfly.com enjoy!

I got a nudge, so I guess I haven't updated in awhile. Sorry!

- weather has gotten HOT. I blame it on my Minnesotan-ness, because G thinks it is quite pleasant.

- Work is going well. Been so busy with the Kids Coordinator stuff (about time) not to mention more IS-type of stuff. My newest homework assignment is about salaries, which is very interesting. Little confusing at parts, I must admit, but I'll get there!

- I've been really tired lately. Not sure why, though... Perhaps it's the weather?

- A co-worker, his girl, and I went to see "yasukuni". Very interesting and worth a look if you're interested in Japanese-Asian relations.

And just so everyone knows...
I wasn't in Akihabara when the stabbing took place (and all my otaku friends and acquaintances are ok too) and I didn't feel the recent earthquake.

Maybe it's a good thing I am not going to this year's convention:

http://www.startribune.com/18900229.html

I'll stick to my power suit TYVM.

(background not those just tuning in: used to be a delegate at the state convention before moving to Japan. Now MN is hosting the national con. And I'm missing it... AND it's on my birthday!! meh.)

That's right! The Wedding World Tour 08 is making it's final stop next weekend here in Tokyo. It's been a crazy, hectic, wonderful ride. I thank myself everyday for the wonderfully supportive family and friends we have, and especially for the man I married. If it wasn't for him, I think I would have gone insane.

The final event has had a few rough patches. People bailing, excuses, scheduling conflicts. There are some people I would love to have there, but for a variety of reasons, they can't make it. I'm trying not to let it get to me, but it's hard. I just have to keep thinking positively.

We have quite the crowd coming, though! A few people from my work (all of whom are awesome people!), some rugby players from G's team (I hope they stay well behaved...), photographers (friends, not hired), a few other foreigners in Japan, Grad students, etc etc. I think it will be a great time!!! So yeah, I'm hurt by some people's actions, but I won't let that stop me from having a wonderful time with the friends that have come out to support me and party hard with us in Roppongi.

With all this going on, I am back to HQ this week. For those that haven't heard, I was accepted to the IS Fast Track program. This means that I will be trained and groomed to one day hopefully be a supervisor at one of our language centers. Since coming home, I have been plugging away at the 300 pg manual I received and recording lessons in hope of finding one acceptable enough to be heard.

I have one from a low-level student with perhaps too much teacher talking time, but good PPP. The other I have is from a far-too-energetic student that would ask me off-topic questions at random times, but had good examples of activities. May turn in both if I can't get a better one. I still have monday!

Wish me luck next week. With 3 full days of intense training at HQ, figuring out friends and acquaintances relationship issues, and finalizing party stuff, I need all the luck I can get!

G and I got back to Japan yesterday. As expected, he had to go to work almost right after he got home. And on his birthday, too!! I have today off and then back to work on Wednesday. It will be good to get back into a routine, but I did love the break. I hope it won't be too hard to get back into things!

News Highlights

- while I was away, I got the results from my IS (instructor supervisor) fast-track interview: I got it!! So, more training to come and a 300 page package waiting at my school to be read.

- Working on my first pair of socks. Turning out to be ok, but pretty basic. May do Jaywalkers if I can get a hand on a copy of the pattern (magknits closed down if you haven't heard, and the patterns are not there.)

Gotta get ready for the day; have to clean out the suitcases and get some laundry done.

Since everyone is asking for them, here are some wedding teasers. Bunches more will be posted after we get back to Japan.
( after the cut )

Wedding #1 went smoothly! No major problems except for a little stain on my dress. I'll post more details when I have time because...

We are in NZ finishing preparations for wedding #2. NZ is wonderful; if you haven't been here, you should. We are staying in Glen's hometown of Hobbiton. Yes, I'm married to a hobbit. Seriously though, the hobbiton set is in his hometown. It is beautiful here and everyone is friendly. Still trying to find a decent yarn shop, though. You'd think with all the sheep here that I could find a great yarn shop.

The weather calls for rain on saturday, so cross your fingers and hope that the weatherman is wrong!

Just an FYI: I will be leaving for the US tomorrow (wooooo!) and will be back to Japan via New Zealand (double wooooo!) on April 14th.

seriously, can this week get any worse? racism at the gym, poor service at the salon when getting my wedding hair done, and never enough sleep. i cant wait for vacation. im trying to stay positive, especially for G. he's had to deal with a bunch of his friends bailing out of the wedding. G is the type of guy that will walk through fire for people. when he was a grad student,no time and no money, he still found ways to travel across the world to attend weddings and be there for friends. seriously, the type of excuses we've heard from some have been laughable. G is constantly optimistic but this time, i can tell he's a bit hurt.

Today is a much needed day off. I had to run some errands this morning to prep for the trip. First, we went to get our international licenses. Get this: I have a driver's license in Japan, but my license in the US expired. So I have to get a license to drive in my own country. Go fig! After that, Glen dropped me off at the dentist to get my teeth cleaned. All was good! A few trouble spots, but nothing too major. More flossing, better brushing technique, etc etc.

In knitting news, I finished the long gloves!!! Well, I still have to tie off all the ends and hide them, but that won't take long at all.

In more wedding news: US invites are out! NZ invites will be out tomorrow, and Japan invites will be out... eh... sometime soon. :) Still no idea what to do with my hair. None of the veils have struck me as fantastic; they are all so plain. Hopefully I can think of something that will go with my dress. If anyone knows of something unique I could do that is still a bit classic, let me know.

The wedding parties are next month (eeeeeek!) and I still don't have something for my head (veil? headband?) or other accessories. At least I have my guy and that is the most important. <3

Things have been going pretty well at work. I have been given more responsibilities besides keeping the kids program running smoothly. For example, we have a new teaching method that is being tested out, and I was asked to use my students as guinea pigs. I'll also been joining in with the staff meeting to discuss out center's goals for the year. Things to pack the resume with is never a bad thing. ;)

Although work has been going well, I have been really stressed. The main reason is because G is in the hospital. He has been in since Monday, but because of the location, he was told to stay in all week. Perhaps it's better than the US method of kicking patients out ASAP. He was supposed to come home today (took work off to get him), but the doc wants him to stay until Sunday or Monday to make sure there is no infection. But no worries! He is doing fantastic. It's really lonely at home. I never thought I would be so used to sleeping next to someone that I wouldn't be able to sleep without him there.

In more up-beat news, I got my wedding dress!! It is soooo beautiful! Now I am thinking of ways to accessorize it. Just a few more months until the wedding extravaganza. The US and NZ weddings are set-up, and the Tokyo party is about 80% done.

On the knitting front, I have been working on long opera gloves. I really like this pattern though they are tighter than I expected. But they are wonderful. :D The pics are on ravelry (knittingmistress).

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on this page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover. (I recommend cropping it square, naturally.)

4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post/link to the result as a comment in this post. Also, pass it along in your own journal because it’s more amusing that way.

YAY MCCAIN!!

that's all. :)

Happy New Year!

Last few days in points.

- Still sick, but only a cough. When will it end?!?!
- Went to day 2 of Comiket with Okamura-san and his group of manga-loving guys. Had a blast! Will post more later about it.
- Have had lots of snuggle time with G, which makes me very happy. :)
- No work for a couple more days!!!
- Getting my nengajo/new year cards ready. Want one? Give me your address.

Glen sent me a link from a magazine. It gives suggestions about what to do in Tokyo in 48 hours. I'd love to hear what you all think of it. IMO, it's pretty good! A bit too much emphasis on Roppongi and not enough on Shinjuku, but otherwise it is pretty interesting.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4336460a34.html

Sorry for the lack of updates. Things are going ok here. It's finally getting cooler!! Not cool enough for my liking, but heading in the right direction.

My work schedule has changed a bit, so I don't really have time to check the computer on Thurs or Fri.

My current knitting project is mittens for Glen! They look great but.... I am afraid they are a little small. I tested them on him and, of course, he is too nice to tell me if they fit or not. I keep telling him I won't be offended! Honestly, it took me no time to get them made. I just want him to like them and wear them - wear them because he wants to, not because of guilt. I'm tempted to frog them and re-do them but I'll ask him one more time.

Who is on facebook? :D