Down the Rabbit Hole with the Semi-Evil Squirrel

you're really growing on me*

It is another late night. Surprised? Didn't think so. Well, I have promised to update this or LJ every day I have internet. I updated LJ with a couple of sentences last night. Sadly, tonight will be much the same here.

I've been busy and I feel like I would lose my head if it wasn't attached. When I left work tonight at 6, I walked out the door with my indoor shoes still on. Got halfway down the walkway when I realized something wasn't right. Now I have to give the soles a wipe before wearing them again inside. :/

I had classes at one of my favorite schools today. Very fun.

Tomorrow is a full day in the office, so hopefully I can get a lot done and off my plate. I am working on clearing out old teaching things from the past 10 years of ALTs before me. One binder a week. Seems sad, but in the long run it will result in much less STUFF everywhere. Mah...

Well, time for bed. Thanks for the comments last time, ladies! I hope you all have fabulous Mondays. *sends good vibes to y'all*

*The Darkness - "Growing on Me"

Labels: busy bee, in tribute to nanowrimo, life in japan

i'd rather run the other way than wait and see*

So it is late. Almost 10pm and I have an early morning and busy day ahead of me tomorrow. Because of that this will be short. Listing works for me!

Accomplished today:
- went through 2 binders of predecessor teaching materials and tossed what is no longer useful
- started preparing materials for Thanksgiving elementary school lessons (see a few posts back)
- LUNCH: PB&J sandwich and apple w/cinnamon, milk (I felt like I was in day care!)
- finished preparing materials for Thanksgiving lessons
- wrote Dana a letter (man, I miss her so much!)
- studied 80 kanji and learned 12 new ones
- prepared materials for tomorrow's JHS classes
- reviewed Japanese for lesson
- Japanese lesson from 4:30 until 6pm (brain is officially mush at that point)
- drove 30 minutes to my hair appointment and converse in Japanese for 1.5 hours
- got way too much hair cut off, because I wanted to indulge the stylist's vision *rolls eyes at self*
- stopped by my favorite cafe for a late dinner at 8pm
- drove home, watching lightning over the sea out of the corner of my eye

Yup. That's about it. On a side note: I listened to The Fray's How to Save A Life album for most of the car ride and my time at home so far this evening. I always forget how much I like this album. There really isn't a time or mood where I wouldn't want to hear it.

*The Fray - "She Is"

Labels: busy bee, in tribute to nanowrimo, life in japan

i don't know what more to ask for, i was given just one wish*

0917 hrs:
*waves hello* I took a (short) hiatus from blogging last week due to an extreme amount of work to do. One of my cow-orkers is gone on medical leave for a few weeks and in the meantime I have to do part of her job. The part of her job that I am doing normally would only take an hour or so every day, but she was behind, so there was a lot of catching up to do. As it stands at this moment (after working like a mad woman last week), I am now only a week behind. I am hoping that by tomorrow afternoon I will be caught up to this week. *hopes*

I had a really good weekend compared to the weekend before. I did so much that it almost feels like I had a three-day weekend. The only bad side was that I was sick yesterday morning. I had a migraine and it gave me a short-lived fever, chills and some stomach problems. I took some Excedrin Migraine Extra Strength (so often my life-saver) and laid down for a nap. I felt worlds better when I awoke and continued on with my day. I still felt a little shaky for a while, but am feeling mostly ok today. Isn't it strange how migraines can wreak so much havoc physically?

1109 hrs:
Friday night is the ideal time to grocery shop. Nailz and I have made a habit of eating dinner and then going grocery shopping around 7pm. The grocery store is fairly quiet and peaceful and the lines are short, if there are lines at all. I normally wouldn't reveal such a "secret", but seeing as all of 3 people actually read these entries (and of those, none actually shop at the same store as we do), I think I am safe from Friday nights becoming the new busy time for grocery stores. Of course, I don't really care if other stores get busy or are busy on Friday nights - just so long as mine stays peaceful and quiet. Isn't that just how humans are geared to think?

Speaking of groceries - a new week means a new Grocery Titan! This week's Grocery Titan goes to ... *checks receipt and gets distracted* the 1/2 gallon Oberweis 2% milk coming in at a hefty $4.54 (bottle deposit is $0.85). The milk did have some tight competition (if you don't include the bottle deposit, that is) with the loaf of Texas Toast I bought for making French Toast on Sunday morning, which came in at an eye-opening $3.39.

Because the Grocery Titan does seem to be the same types of items every week (for the most part), I've also decided to announce a new category: the Grocery Saver! This item will be decided completely subjectively, based on what I consider to be the best value for the best price. This week's Grocery Saver goes to ... the small box of LIFE cereal! Cereal is usually so expensive, but there was a sale - 5/$10.00. Can't beat that when it comes to cereal!

1144 hrs:
Don't think I remembered to mention it here, but The Decemberists (my very favoritest band ever!) are putting a new full-length album out in March. I am pretty excited. They put up "The Rake's Song" for a free download and preview to the album. It rocks out completely. Did I mention that I'm pretty excited? *grin*

1505 hrs:
Working in a system that is moving like molasses and need to have everything done in it SOON. Gah. Plus, I'm just kind of fumbling around in the system because I was not trained how to do any of this in my cow-orkers absence and neither was anyone else. I've been able to figure it out slowly, but not quite so surely. Eek! Wish me luck and I'll blab at y'all tomorrow! XD

P.S. Happy Chinese New Year! Let's work hard together in this, the year of the Ox. Wear some red and try not to get angry today. :D

*Royksopp - What Else is There?

Labels: busy bee, grocery savers, grocery titans, music, the decemberists, work

i don't want to go out. i want to stay in...get things done

0933 hrs:
And so the short, dreary days of winter have begun. This morning it was perfectly clear and the sun was coming up without any clouds to obstruct the view. Now, it is so gray out that I don't think you could find the sun if you tried.

I am feeling sleepy again. By now, I should be used to this feeling, right? Nope. It still takes me by surprise to be so sleepy. I have yawned so much this morning already that my jaw hurts and my eyes are all watery. I am slowly, but surely getting to bed earlier in the evenings. It doesn't seem to be helping much so far.

I am dreading the next 3 weeks. There is too much going on in my planner. There already are two instances where I've spontaneously said yes to doing something and then realized that I already had plans. Also - I just don't really want to go out and do things. I want to stay inside. I'm tired of always being away from home. I just want a weekend where the only time I go out is to grocery shop on Sunday. I want to be home Friday night and all day on Saturday and Sunday.

It looks like there will be no weekend like that for me until the weekend before Christmas. Bah...

Anywho - just thinking about all of that makes me crabby.

1226 hrs:
Just finished eating. Lunch was ok. I had a tuna salad sandwich and a yogurt. People around me all had hot food that they had ordered out for. I was extremely envious. What is it about this time of year that makes us want to eat all the stuff that is fattening? What I really want is fatty, greasy, hot food in large amounts. It feels like such a punishment to not follow those cravings.

I am having a strange day. The morning went by pretty quickly even though I feel as though I didn't do much. Then at lunch, I was attacked by the Giggle Loop. It was certainly embarrassing. My co-workers looked at me kind of strange, but I couldn't help it. Maybe I've finally snapped, eh? *sigh* It was such a quiet, inappropriate moment for a laughing fit. Sad thing is, sitting here thinking about it, I feel like laughing again. Laughing until tears come.

So I guess that is about it. There are three people gone from the office today, so it is really quiet. I am hoping that the afternoon doesn't feel so sleepy. I don't think I can describe in words just how much I don't want to do any work today. *sigh* It is hard some days to stay motivated. :(

Labels: busy bee, sleepy, work

you're not obliged to swallow anything you despise

0949 hrs:
Yikes...I am having a very sleepy morning and feel like it should at least be noon by now! I've decided to not drink coffee on the weekdays, so today is my first day trying that. *longs for caffeine*

I called in yesterday. I was completely exhausted and just couldn't manage to get out of bed on time, so I took an unpaid day. Didn't do much of anything - mostly slept in and watched Hana Yori Dango2. I'm completely hooked on that series. So full of bishounen!! Also, I want to see how it ends (well, of course, right?).

1124 hrs:
Just spent some time away from my desk helping out other people with a project that needed help in completing. Now that I am back to my desk, I am really hungry and feel like taking a break.

I just looked at my planner. My week involves a lot of being out and about almost every day and night. I am tired just thinking about it. Actually, every night until Thanksgiving is looking pretty busy. This makes me sad. I just really want to chill at home for the whole weekend for once.

Also just looked at my grocery bill from last night's shopping foray. This week's grocery titan is a clear winner: Minnesota-grown Wild Rice coming in at $4.49 for 1 pound takes the crown. Nothing else really comes close to that one. Everything else is pretty much $3 or less.

Well, can't think of much else to say. I'm feeling pretty blank at the moment and this will probably be all for today. Ciao for now!

PLAYLIST:
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Labels: busy bee, grocery titans, j-drama, playlists, sleepy, work