Death by Homework

Mwahaha! Again, I've failed to write anything for about a week! (Business as usual, eh?)

On the bright (-ish) side, I've managed to somehow survive midterms and a snow week's worth of homework, all without dying. (Though I did stress out a bit last night and this morning since I hadn't done nearly enough studying for my Political Science midterm...)

For some reason, today seems to be the day of parenthetical statements, though I'm not sure precisely why. As for what I've been doing lately (besides homework), I went to two Karate classes this week, and it was great to get back into punching things, kicking things, and yelling my lungs out. This class is even more vocal with their kiai's than my last Karate school, and school is stressful enough that I can really use the excuse to make noise. Additionally, I'm really appreciating how a good tight diaphragm can prevent the wind from getting knocked out of me.

I also started watching a new anime (ooh, big surprise there... not) and though I'm only a few episodes in, It's pretty interesting. The best part is noticing that I'm needing fewer and fewer subtitles as my Japanese studies continue. That's probably the best part of watching anything in Japanese for me. Of course, the quirky science teacher who sits backwards on a computer chair and wheels himself into and out of rooms for dramatic effect is amusing too. (The best part is when the chair hits the doorway area and topples over...)

And hey! I found a video of it! Excuse the subtitles and weird music, and there may be one curse word, though I forget.

Anyway, beyond the awesomeness that is Dr. Franken Stein (I know, I know, so creative... props to the Japanese author for that one... (sigh. The world would be a more fun place if there were a sarcasm emoticon. But the sad part is that there's no universal look that means "sarcastic." Eyeroll gets close, but I think if it as more of a "good grief, you dork" kind of emoticon rather than a dry, snarky sort of emoticon...)), the other characters are interesting too, particularly the OCD kid who has a thing for symmetry.  And yet another video for your enjoyment (or not) ... (I'm pretty sure he swears once in this too... sorry)

Well, since I've babbled my way past toppling computer chairs, needing a sarcasm emoticon and the OCD Kid, it's probably time for me to think of a better topic. Church has been awesome lately, we're going through the book of Romans and I've been liking it a lot. I've been very convicted by a lot of these sermons and I've learned a lot since coming up here. Bible study has been great too and I love my small-group. I want to look into getting more involved on campus, but then again, being me, it'll take a lot of stretching outside of my comfort zone to figure something like that out. But I'm game! (Just give me some time to work on it...)

I have been doing some fiction writing lately, though not as much as I should, probably because I've been watching too much TV/Anime/Movies... I really need to get back into reading and writing. The thing is, I can multitask and "watch" movies while not actually watching them. I've gotten really used to just listening to what's going on in the TV show while doing homework or drawing, and so I don't have to set aside time specifically for movies, etc. On the other hand, writing actually takes effort and full concentration. I tried watching anime while writing this post, and it didn't work. If I can't even write a lousy rambling blog post, imagine trying to write something of value while watching TV! Impossible!

Well, though I haven't done much writing, I've done some drawing, getting used to my new Wacom Bamboo tablet that I got for Christmas. (It's A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I love it!)

 

Soooo, here's a few quick pics of story characters that I drew using my tablet. (these were all done solely on the computer, from sketch to coloring. I'm actually rather pleased with them...)

   ...well, now that I've written a goofy update and reminded everyone of how insane I am, I suppose it's time to do some homework, or perhaps some writing! (PS: Aren't you proud? I figured out how to put pictures and videos in my bloggy-ness! I'm so happy... maybe I'm not as computer illiterate as I thought!)

Until next time: God bless!

SNOWPOCALYPSE!!!

...at least, that's what was predicted...

Ah yes, it's 2012, the world is going to end before 2013 and Seattle drivers are trying their best to make it happen. Right now the ground is dusted with about three to four inches of snow (weathermen were predicting 1 foot, but that was probably just to convince the University to close). It's quite beautiful, and I will probably brave the weather soon just to get out of the house at least once today. Who knows, I might find a post office. Then again, I might not.

In spite of the predicted snowpocalypse, I went to my first Karate class last night! My quadriceps suffered mightily because I am out of shape. I didn't realize how out of shape I was until the instructor had us jumping and doing lunges for approximately ten minutes. After that, we had to link arms back-to-back with a partner and lean against each other, basically doing the wall-sit with another person. Well, it took me a little while to figure out exactly how that worked. While my partner was a kind blackbelt, she had to remind me several times that we were supposed to be pushing against each other from the hips, not the shoulders. As a result of not figuring it out right away, my legs pretty much turned to jelly. It hurt.

On the bright side, I don't seem to be particularly sore today, and because UW is closed for the snow, I was able to put off my first Japanese midterm by one day! So I got an extra day to study Japanese and also my International Relations textbook and other readings. I'm a little sad that I had to miss out on one of my IR lectures though, because my professor really knows his stuff. He was even quoted in the textbook and is considered a prominent figure in this area of study. Which is really nice. He reminds me of Dr. Fisher, only less quirky. However, like Dr. Fisher, he knows his stuff so well that you could pick any international politics topic and he could tell you all about it and give you some really fascinating insights on the matter. Plus, the stuff he teaches really fascinates me, which doesn't hurt.

As the snow continues to fall (yay!) I know that some of my roommates are praying that school is cancelled tomorrow as well, and while that would be fun, I am up here to learn. Still, there's something about a snow day that brings out the inner child in a person. (Or the inner nutjob. I heard that the snowball fight on Greek Row got so intense it took 6 police cars and some arrests to break it up...) So, I'm off to dig up my new wool sweater and gloves, pull on my hat, bundle up, and tromp through the snow in my awesome leather boots. Since it's not slushy yet, I should be able to return with dry feet.

I haven't really talked much about last quarter, but that's the recent update, so I suppose it all works out in the end.

Until next time, God bless!

~'chel

Before Things Get Too Crazy ...

So, after writing my last entry I told myself that I would be sure to write another entry before things got too crazy.  Unsurprisingly, I've failed in my mission. I blame it on my lazy personality that resists the idea of doing any more talking about myself than absolutely necessary. I find this pretty ridiculous since I love getting into contact with my friends and family back home, but I can't bother myself to update them on how life is going in the "Emerald City." (If it were up to me, I would have called it the "Gray City," but it doesn't have quite the same ring...and it might scare away even more people than its reputation for massive amounts of rainfall already has.)

Of course, being a brilliant writer (note the sarcasm inherent in this statement), I was heartbroken to be informed by one of my friends that I'd capitalized several nouns that did not need to be capitalized, in addition to having a few silly grammar mistakes in my prior post. Originally I intended to edit the thing, but I decided that leaving my mistakes might help capture some of my personality, and make this format feel a bit more personable.

However, being new to the world of blogging, I really have no clue how to make my blog fancy or remotely personal. I have only myself to blame: I seem to know a lot about facebook and I post fanfiction on a (semi) regular basis (when I've had time to write and/or remember to update), but I have never really acquainted myself with this platform.

So prepare to be bored. I have no camera, so any pictures would need to be stolen from google images or facebook friends, and since I'm not particularly photogenic (I'm pretty sure my photobombs outnumber any good pictures 10:1), there is not a high chance of me embarrassing myself further by uploading more pictures of myself acting foolish.

On that note, I will try to talk about last quarter some, since some people may not have recieved the full update. You got the quick version, and the next few posts will probably be my foggy memories regarding a few fun (or not-so-fun) events from last quarter. Or maybe not. It all depends on my mood when I write my next post.

As things stand now, I will only say that I enjoyed my three-day weekend too much and did not study nearly enough, and now I will be forced to stay up late finishing my homework and studying for imminent tests in my third-year Japanese class...

Sometimes I hate my lazy side. This is one of those times. I'm not sure how I managed to pull mostly good grades out of last quarter with all the dorking around I did, but I'm afraid if I continue dorking this quarter, I'll get a similar grade in Japanese, which was the lowest I've ever gotten (barely a B). I shall now dismiss myself and stop wasting time, moving on to studying for Japanese since I've finished studying my communications reading and accidentally killing online quizzes. (You'll probably be hearing more on that later...)

Until next time, God bless!

Today Began Far Too Many Hours Ago

Having been heckled by relatives and friends over my winter break from school, I now feel obligated to do something to keep folks updated on my life while I live at my home away from home. ("Home away from home" being the University Christian Union (UCU) Women's house at the lovely University of Washington Seattle campus.)

I'll start by reviewing my journey into college life in rapid fashion:

• Running Start student at Clark College, graduated with an AA and High School diploma in 2011.
• Application was accepted to UW, but I wanted to go to PSU. God had other ideas, and had to slam multiple doors in my face before I would accept this.
• Dad found out about a Christian house at the UW online.
• I applied to the house. Shortly after, I learned that there was *insert dramatic music* no room for me in the dorms at UW. I started praying hard.
• I was given the OK to interview for the house, which I scheduled during my UW orientation.
• When I arrived for orientation, I ended up getting an infection in the tender area from which one of my wisdom teeth had recently been extracted
• I survived orientation, interview, and infection
• Fall arrived. I went on a fall retreat with the UCU Men and Women's house. We played ultimate frisbee, ate food, put together jigsaw puzzles, drew pictures, played foosball, and signs. We also had a great speaker.
• I started attending school and freaked out because the Japanese Class was a lot harder and was
  "reviewing" things that I'd never learned. 
• However, some of the new grammar was stuff I'd already learned... it was odd.
• I went on a quick ministry trip in Downtown-ish Seattle where I helped cook dinner.
• I got used to my classes, actually figured out how to take the bus, and returned home for Thanksgiving.
• I finally decided on a church-- Paradox Bible Church, which is tiny but awesome, and meets in a movie theatre. Yeah.
• I went home for Winter break.
• Now I'm back for more Japanese, International Relations, and Communications.

So there it is. Hopefully I can keep people relatively updated on this little lovely, and now I don't have to try to bug everyone with humongous emails.

I'm kind of tired now, since I've been traipsing all across campus and desperately seeking wayward buildings, not to mention the ever elusive IMA (InterMural Activities building). Perhaps today I will be able to find the IMA, and also buy my last textbook.

In the meantime, I'll do homework, avoid the rain, and try to ignore the gloomy overcast grayness that is settling in around the UW.

So long and fare thee well!