Day 139 - 16th of January

10:12pm　セミナーハウス
天気：晴れ
A nice clear day; not that I appreciated much of it. Yes, I woke up in the afternoon; again! I think today topped the lazy charts; seriously. I had breakfast (the failure pancakes I made a while ago, which actually turned out to taste fine), then spent the rest of the afternoon playing my DS, occasionally switching over to my laptop. At around 6 I read some more Deltora Quest, until I gave into my hunger, and went up and made dinner; scrambled eggs, toast, and rice. There was a really interesting movie on TV; 時をかける少女 (toki wo kakeru shoujo – “The girl who leapt through time”). It’s a 1983 live action movie based on a novel of the same name. Admittedly, I was more than a little confused for the most of it, but I enjoyed the music, and the setting, so I watched it all, as people slowly filtered out of the kitchen; I was the last one there. I came back down, read some more, exercised, and then showered. Tomorrow going to Nijo Castle...

Day 133 - 10th of January

10:09pm　セミナーハウス
天気：曇り
Well I guess I decided that today would be the end of my lazy week; I didn’t get up until 11. Oh well, it was a nice day… I made pancakes, and all but one turned out to be complete disasters. I tried to make them really big and thin, but they cooked too fast and I couldn’t manoeuvre the spatula well; just ended up a big mess. Of course, I’ll eat it eventually. After that, I talked with Mum for a while, and then continued watching Hetalia. By the time I had lunch, at about 2, I had watched up to episode 29. I sat in the dining room for a few hours, and talked with Ash and Jeremy, while watching this before and after show on TV; it was a house renovation, and there were some really great innovations. At about 5:30, I went and did some more grocery shopping at Sanko; got what I needed for pizza tonight.

Getting back, I watched some more Hetalia, before finally having dinner at about 8. I organised with Ash a Karaoke session as soon as Katie gets back; we’re both hanging to sing. Also, we’re hopefully going to go see Avatar soon; really looking forward to it. Pizza was really great, even though it was messy. Again, chatted with Ash and Jeremy; well I listened for most of it, when they started talking about Star Trek. But anyway, came back down to find that Ryan’s still not back, which makes me wonder maybe he’ll be coming back tomorrow morning. Regardless, I’ve decided to go and explore Osaka tomorrow; Shinsaibashi and Den den town. I’ve wanted to do it for a while, so I figure I might as well do it tomorrow. I’ll try to get there as early as possible, and hopefully get back not too late, because we might be going to karaoke! So, early night tonight…

Day 132 - 9th of January

9:10pm　セミナーハウス
天気：曇り
Another cloudy day spent inside doing practically nothing; aren’t I boring. Oh well, at least I’m saving money… I got up at 9, had breakfast and enjoyed doodling with Alex for a few hours on isribble.net; so cool. I also talked with Carly. Around 2, I was craving food again, so went up and made lunch. I chatted some more afterwards, and then had a nap, getting up at about 5. I decided to bleach my hair; that took about an hour. The difference is very subtle; my hair looks kinda orangey now. I only used half the bottle though, so I’m going to try again next week. At 6:30 I went up and had dinner. I mixed last night’s leftover meat with veggies and macaroni in a yakitori sauce; it tasted really good. I sat with Ash, while watching this horrendous show on TV, where contestants who obviously can’t sing, battle it out in front of a live audience, looking very foolish; people will do anything to get on TV. After dinner I read some more of Deltora.

Now am going to watch some Hetalia: Axis Powers. This is the anime, Alex, Ash, and many others are obsessed with. It presents an allegorical interpretation of historical events, particularly in the WWII era, and the countries are represented by anthropomorphic characters. ヘタリア (Hetalia) is a portmanteau combining へたれ (hetare - useless) and イタリア (Italia). This is to make light of Italy's apparent cowardice during World War II; thank you Wikipedia. The episodes are really short (5 mins), so I thought, what the heck, might as well take a look. I’ve watched a few episodes already, and it’s pretty interesting so far. There are only 49 episodes, so I might watch them all tonight, if the internet is kind. Tomorrow is Sunday, the beginning of a new week; a week where I will no longer be lazy…

Day 129 - 6th of January

9:04pm　セミナーハウス
天気：曇り
Well so much for breaking the vicious cycle; I got up at 1 this afternoon. Well, I guess I’ts a step in the right direction; just finding it a bit hard to get to sleep early. Anyway, I got to do my laundry finally, and it got a few hours of sun before I had to bring it in. I had pancakes for breakfast/lunch, and even got some physical exercise in; I was happy about that. I talked with mum for a couple of hours, then went and had dinner (yakisoba). Onara hazukashikunai yo came on TV again (so funny), and then there was a show where contestants had to sing a song without the lyrics. After dinner, I read another 4 pages of Deltora Quest and now have 198 new vocab; it’s probably going to continue like this for a while. Hopefully once I start getting into the story it’ll get easier; the beginning’s a bit slow. As for tomorrow, I have to do grocery shopping; don’t have anything else planned. I aim to get up at 9, so we’ll see how that goes…

Day 122 - 30th of December

10:14pm　セミナーハウス
天気：晴れ
Well today was a big lot of not much. Mind you, I only experienced half of it in waking hours; didn't get up till 12:40. I really can't do this anymore; I'm definitely going to get up at a regular time tomorrow. So what did I do today... well, basically as soon as I got up, I looked at the time, and though "I'm late for talking with family," so I quickly got Skype set up in the lounge; Ryan was still asleep. Talked with Mum and Ben mostly; Dad had to head out unfortunately. After an hour I had to eat, so I said goodbye and made lunch; avocado and rice on toast. It was really nice to get a really good avocado; I haven't had much luck with them for a while now. Anyway, ate and watched the ice skating; it was the champions' last performances, really cool. After that, spent the rest of the afternoon, uploading photos to deviant art, and reading Misfile (the webcomic).

Today, Jo came back from her trip to Hokkaido, but I didn't really get a chance to catch up with her because she was practically going back out the door; she's gone to Kyoto tonight, and will be there for New Years. We got each others contact details, so hopefully we can meet up tomorrow night sometime. I have a bit of an idea of what I want to do... For New Years Eve, there's a ritual called the 除夜の鐘 (joya no kane), involving the temple bell being rung 108 times, to purge humanity of the 108 Buddhist sins. I'd like to go the the 知恩院 (Chionin temple), which has the largest bell in Japan. Then, on New Years day, I want to go to Yasaka shrine for the 初詣 (hatsumode - first shrine visit of the year). It's only a short walk from Choinin. The biggest problem will be the fact that I'll be stranded there for the night, which I'm sure won't be that bad; there will be so much to do. So actually, the biggest problem will be having the energy to do it all.

Anyway, I saw Jo just before making dinner; yakisoba. I turned out really, really tasty tonight, and I don't know why. It wasn't as salty as it usually is. I guess I didn't put in as much soy sauce as I usually do, but it really didn't seem that way. Had some mandarin, came back down, and been talking with Alex. I went up a bit later and had some chocolate (thanks Nanny) and Milo; haven't done that in a long while. I'm really tired now (thanks to not doing anything today). I feel pretty bad about that. Well, I'm going to get up early tomorrow, make pancakes for breakfast, do my laundry, and maybe do some cleaning. Then get ready for Kyoto in the evening. Shower, then sleep...

Day 111 - 19th of December

10:54pm　セミナーハウス
天気：　寒い
Today was… pretty lazy. I didn’t get up till 11; again. Diego went out again with Jessica today. This time though, I had a much more fulfilling breakfast; scrambled eggs, and French toast. Carly was also trying to make chocolate pancakes, but they didn’t work out so well so we put the batter into the baking tray and made it into a cake. At about 4, we went over to seminar house 4 to go pick up the bikes. We’d never been inside before; everything was huge. Unfortunately Mark wasn’t there; I left him a note, but we haven’t been able to make contact yet. Might be able to pick them up in the morning; fingers crossed…

Okay just talked with him on the phone, I’m going to go in tomorrow at 8. So that’s sorted. After going to Sem 4, we went to Avail, and I got a few things there. I got this nice yellow shirt that says “I J JPN” on the front. We also bought a zodiac shirt for Diego, the bunny thinking that was his year; we were wrong. When we got back and presented it to him, he told us he was a tiger; because he is born in January, before the Chinese New Year. So yeah, now he’s got a cute little pink bunny on a green shirt. It’s kinda funny actually cause a bunny seems the complete opposite to a tiger. Anyway, we’re going to get a picture with all three of us together in the shirts; Carly got her snake one today too.

So yeah, soon after that we had dinner, and then Diego decided to clean out his cupboard. This motivated me to clean the fridge out. Diego came and helped out; he pulled out the bottom tray and took it the shower to wash it. It was pretty gross; there was cheese stuck on the insides, and mould on the bottom. I felt good to get it done though; cleaning inspection next week and Otousan and Okaasan will expect it to be clean. I also cleaned out my own cupboard. Diego offered up all his stuff; I gave most of it away, but kept some things. It was only about 9 by the time I finished, and I’ve been spending the rest of the night capturing video from my tapes and talking with Alex. Christmas is just around the corner, and I’m really excited to see her. Anyway, bed. Carly and I are going to Osaka tomorrow; gonna be heaps of fun. Good night…

Day 49 - 18th of October

10:38pm　セミナーハウス

天気：晴れ

Today was another lazy day. I got a bit of study and reading done, and started preparing for my Japanese oral exam; I have an intereview with the sensei! There was a market going on in the park, and at around noon I went to go check it out; it was actually quite large. There were a lot of stalls (food, clothes, white elephant, second hand). There was a jumping castle and other activities for the kids, and a dog show! Although I didn't end up buying anything, it was a nice break from the mundane. After getting back I had lunch, and then studied some more. Carly hung out with Diego and I in our room for most of the day; her roommate was still in Hiroshima. At 6:30 I started dinner, and again, I forgot to defrost the meat; this time chicken breasts. I decided to defrost them in a pot of hot water, and ended up half cooking them. It all worked out though. I cut them up into small bits, and stir fried them along with veggies and noodles; so yummy and leftovers for tomorrow night. A little later, I put on some rice, and had a bowl. Still hungry I ate one of Diego's manderins and later, some of Amber's instant chocolate pudding. So now I'm very much content. Back to uni tomorrow...

Day 48 - 17th of October

10:17pm　セミナーハウス
天気：雨天
Lazy Saturday... No, I lie, I did get stuff done. I did my laundry this morning, and hand washed my new clothes. Unfortunately, It rained this afternoon, so I had to bring my clothes in to dry. I got my homework done for Monday, so tomorrow will be my study day for CEL and History. Jess came over and studied with Diego, and I read some more of The Gossamer Years. It is pretty interesting though, every five minutes I have to refer to the notes at the back of the book. The author, whom we don't know the name of, is adamant in only writing her most personal affairs (which basically entail her less than perfect union with her husband) in the dairy. At one point she even apologises for writing about a certain event in detail that does not involve her, so while you get a glimpse into the life of a "middle class" woman of the Heian era, other important aspects of the time a sorely missed. The poetry, which they use a lot to communicate with one another, is very beautiful though.

Tonight, I ended up eating the rest of my stew, which was really enough for two people; I was very full afterwards. At about 9, Diego and I went upstairs and played cards with Amber for a while. The other girls were in Hiroshima, or, as the case was for Ash, coming back on the Shinkansen. I would have stayed the night, considering how expensive the train ticket is; might as well make the most of being there right? Anyway, at this point, I am seriously considering a solo trip to Tokyo in the New Year, and see everything I want to see. Unfortunately I won't be able to climb Mt Fuji as the climbing season doesn't start until July. It's a shame, but I know I'll be coming back to Japan again; I have to! Well that's my lot for the day; hoping for brighter skies tomorrow...

Day 43 - 12th of October

9:27pm　セミナーハウス
天気：晴れ
Lazy day today; for the most part. I woke up at 10:30, had pancakes for breakfast; I'm going to get fat eating them I know. Stuffed around on the computer, ate lunch and stuffed around on the computer some more. Even though it's a holiday for us (体育の日 - tai-iku no hi - health and sports day), the Japanese students still had uni, so I assumed that koto club would still be on; I was right. I got there and it ended up being just four of us foreign students; the Japanese girls filtered in as time past. We did a lot of practice, and every so often I'd have to get to stretch my legs. At about 6:30 we had a meeting, about what we'd be doing at INFES. Apparently, we'll be playing there for two of the three days, and we'll also be selling treats. After the festival, we're going to go out for dinner and karaoke after; so excited! So yeah, practiced some more and then went home. Made dinner; stir fry again (enough for two meals). And now I've got some reading and study to do, so I'll finish now...

Day 36 - 4th of October

10:10pm　セミナーハウス
天気：暑い
Lazy day today. Woke up at about 9:30, had breakfast, went grocery shopping (again), and then talked with family for about 3 hours!!! It was really great to be able to catch up after a long week. Then I had a nap, did some reading, and did some work on the computer. I had dinner at about 7:30 (spaghetti bolognese). I actually forgot to defrost the meat, so I made a little mess when cooking it on the stove. Well actually, I made a lot of mess, but it was fun, and I cleaned it all up afterwards. After washing and drying the mountain of dishes, I went down to the lounge.

Bianca was watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show (again)! She was watching it yesterday as we were leaving for Kyoto. I watched it for a while, and then I went up to clean the kitchen. I thought I'd lost my plastic lunch box, which I was really bummed out about. But luckily, I found it in one of the storage boxes on the ledge above the sinks; I must have left it in the kitchen, and someone put it away. This made me really happy, so I made my lunch for tomorrow; avocado on toast, carrot sticks, and a pear. I've got a test tomorrow, and then koto club in the afternoon. It's going to be a long day...

Day 8 - 6th of September

3:55pm　　セミナーハウス
天気：　蒸し暑い
It's been a pretty lazy day today. We are now officially checked in to our rooms. New set of keys; for the side gate (YAY for no curfew), our room, and our kitchen cupboard. We also got new bed linen; which is changed every ten days. At the meeting at 10, we were told just why we have to pack away our futon every morning; if we don't do it then we'll find at the end of semester, the tatami beneath it will have had turned green with mold. We also got told that we'd be assigned kitchen duties. The sorting of rubbish was again explained to us, and it's starting to sink in.

4:48pm　セミナーハウス
Deigo is just folding his shirts after ironing them. Lol, earlier today he spilt the water out of the iron onto the tatami floor. He's been having a bit of bad luck today, joking that it's because he drank from all three streams of the otowa no taki; this supposedly brings misfortune. I bought my weeks worth of shopping today. Not so bad for about $35. This doesn't cover my lunch though. But still, I'm happy. Gotta save as much money as I can on food and transport so I have more money for the fun stuff.

First day of classes tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. I'll be able to start getting into a routine. Of course, I'll still have to go out and have fun every now and then. So not much to say today, it's been a lazy one. Father's day in Australia today. Got to talk with my family over Skype after failing to get the video to work on MSN messenger. Oh well, it's all good now. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!