Things to do before I leave Japan:
1. Gather accessories for the most badass Dragon*Con outfit of all time.
2. See a kabuki play.
3. Meet a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Or at least a girl dressed as a cat. Or Splinter.
4. Wear something ridiculous to Harajuku.
5. Go to Hiroshima.
6. Sing karaoke as much as possible.
7. WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. And take the GRE.
8. Slay a dragon.
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I`ve sort of started training for the half-marathon. My efforts have been sabotaged more than once by my twisted right ankle. But yesterday Zack and I ran for 18 minutes, which doesn`t sound that great, but when you consider than we started out running for less than 10 minutes, it`s not so bad. We`re using an interval-training plan, where you work your way up each week until you can run for 30 minutes straight (which is where you want to be to train for a marathon or half-marathon.) You start out by running 1 minute and walking 4 minutes for a week, then 2 minutes, then 3, and so on. If my ankle hadn`t gotten hurt again, we`d probably be running for about 25 minutes by now. But next time, we`ll run an even 20.
I am overly excited that I found an all-natural taco kit at a store called Don Quixote the other day. And it was reasonably priced too! I am so making tofu tacos this week.
I am kind of homesick lately. Well, more homesick than I usually am. All of my friends are dealing with Cabbot`s death back home, and my family is always dealing with something, and I`ve run out of books to read. I yearn for an American library. Some friends are going to do a book swap with us soon, so that`s exciting. It really impacts my writing when I can`t read.
I`ve been thinking about some big questions and trying to figure out what I want out of life. It`s a lot harder to decide than I thought it would be. Each choice you make eliminates an alternate possiblity for your life. You can`t be everything you ever wanted to be because you only get a limited amount of time on this Earth. I`m finally coming to terms with that fact, and I`m learning to embrace what I can have in my life. The future is this big scary monster in the distance that I will have to face. And the distance between me and him is getting smaller and smaller.
Today, I`m just going to be thankful for right now. And be genki as hell.
