I am taking the day off tomorrow and will be spending the day in Tokyo. My friend Louise and I will be doing our " 4 Times a Year Afternoon Tea Tradition" at an expensive tea lounge in Ginza. She probably doesn't realize that this is also kind of birthday gift to myself - a day off, with tea and a friend, in Ginza.
I kind of dreaded having to work today because it is my birthday and in Japan, school is still in session. In fact, today is our deadline for turning in 1st semester grades, so all the teachers are rushing about, correcting a gazillion projects and papers, calculating the grades on our excel spreadsheets, and then inputting the final grades into our intra-net computers. I thought it would be a stressful day especially since yesterday was so bad. I lost my grade book at 2pm and then spent about 4 hours searching everywhere for it. Without my grade book, I was unable to continue my grading, obviously. Luckily, it was found and returned to me so I didn't have to go through yet another sleepless night.
Speaking of sleepless nights, I have had many of those lately. Why, just the other night, I couldn't sleep because I was so nervous about having to yell at one of my classes for doing so poorly on their exam! I even got out of bed and went to the living room and wrote down everything I wanted to say to them. I thought it would allow me to relax and go to sleep, but it didn't help that much. I was still really upset about it.
Back to birthdays and having to work on them. I was so annoyed because Yusuke didn't mention my birthday today and because he didn't say anything, Ailin didn't either. Then, it began pouring (more than the usual cats and dogs) rain just as we were about to leave for work, so I got soaked trying to get the kids out to the car and loaded up.
When I arrived at school, several people immediately wished me a happy birthday. Then, I went to one of my classes to return their exams and the entire class sang happy birthday to me. Thanks to Facebook, I have already received several birthday messages. Adie, my co-worker, gave me a card with a message about going to Starbucks to drink coffee together soon. I immediately invited her to have a quick lunch and coffee with me today, and we took along one of our students' computer projects to grade while there. It took us about 20 minutes to grade all of them. (Funny that Shannon also gives me birthday cards with cups of coffee on them! Some people know how much I love the coffee culture.) Finally, and most surprising of all, the entire English department had a meeting at 4pm to discuss all the grades, and at the end of the meeting, they sang happy birthday and then pulled out firecrackers right at the end of the song. I was really touched.
Now, if only Yusuke will come home early tonight and share with me that $30 bottle of German wine that I insisted we buy for my birthday. Wouldn't want to drink that alone.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Scrapbooking Sundays: Inspiration
Some people wonder how to get inspired, especially if you get stuck in a rut or just have no creative mojo going on.
Here are some things you can do:
Get a hold of some scrapbooking magazines and page through them. Look at some of the elements that attract you most - is the journaling, the new techniques, the embellishments, pattern papers, etc. If something tends to stick out for you, start your next page with that. If the journaling is what attracts you most right now, sit down at your computer or with your notebook and do some writing. If the pattern papers attract you, get thee to the nearest craft store and find some of the newest, trendiest papers.
Sign up for a class, online or in your local store. Having assignments to do will give you a new reason to scrapbook.
Take your camera and experiment with your photography skills. Go outside just before sunset. Take photos during your daily walk around the neighborhood. Plan a family outing where you'll be able to take lots of good photos.
Go blog window shopping. There are tons of bloggers who scrapbook (like me!) as a hobby and professionally, so go look at what they are doing lately.
Make a promise to yourself. Decide that you are going to learn some new things regarding scrapbooking each month. July could be the your month to learn about using eyelets on your pages. August could be your month to learn about layering embellishments. Start small if you have to.
Go Art-hunting. Visit an art museum, a quilt show, an antique shop, or even a neighborhood filled with awesome architecture. Chances are you will find something to inspire you in any of these places.
Look through your photos and find new connections. The snacks your daughter likes to eat now & the snacks you loved to eat when you were a kid. What your kids are doing during their summer holidays & what you used to do. Your friendships and how they have grown and changed over the years. Your favorite things then and now. What you do with your free time now & what you used to do with your free time BEFORE kids. Place these photos in a new folder called "Connections" and go back to it every time you need a little inspiration kick.
Here are some things you can do:
Get a hold of some scrapbooking magazines and page through them. Look at some of the elements that attract you most - is the journaling, the new techniques, the embellishments, pattern papers, etc. If something tends to stick out for you, start your next page with that. If the journaling is what attracts you most right now, sit down at your computer or with your notebook and do some writing. If the pattern papers attract you, get thee to the nearest craft store and find some of the newest, trendiest papers.
Sign up for a class, online or in your local store. Having assignments to do will give you a new reason to scrapbook.
Take your camera and experiment with your photography skills. Go outside just before sunset. Take photos during your daily walk around the neighborhood. Plan a family outing where you'll be able to take lots of good photos.
Go blog window shopping. There are tons of bloggers who scrapbook (like me!) as a hobby and professionally, so go look at what they are doing lately.
Make a promise to yourself. Decide that you are going to learn some new things regarding scrapbooking each month. July could be the your month to learn about using eyelets on your pages. August could be your month to learn about layering embellishments. Start small if you have to.
Go Art-hunting. Visit an art museum, a quilt show, an antique shop, or even a neighborhood filled with awesome architecture. Chances are you will find something to inspire you in any of these places.
Look through your photos and find new connections. The snacks your daughter likes to eat now & the snacks you loved to eat when you were a kid. What your kids are doing during their summer holidays & what you used to do. Your friendships and how they have grown and changed over the years. Your favorite things then and now. What you do with your free time now & what you used to do with your free time BEFORE kids. Place these photos in a new folder called "Connections" and go back to it every time you need a little inspiration kick.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Traveling Tuesdays: Back in time to Jacob Wetterling
If Jacob Wetterling is/were alive today, he would be 32, just 2 years younger than me.
When I was in elementary and junior high school, I had a pen pal from Minnesota (yes, I know, the next state over!), and her name was Shanna. When Jacob was abducted, Shanna included information about Jacob and the circumstances, along with a small poster of him with one of her letters.
Both of us were truly affected by his disappearance. For one thing, he was so close to our age. And, even more astounding was that he was abducted very nearby his home, in the presence of his brother and his friend. It could have happened to any of us.
Shanna and I lost touch at some point during high school, but I sometimes google Jacob to see if there are any updates on his case. Today, on my iGoogle page, where it shows the current most searched items, I noticed that Jacob Wetterling was at the top of the list this morning.
Turns out that breaking news revealed that over 17 unmarked police cars were parked outside the farm very near where Jacob had been abducted. More info to come. Read this article for more information about the current situation...though it doesn't give much yet.
I hope we finally get some answers, Jacob.
When I was in elementary and junior high school, I had a pen pal from Minnesota (yes, I know, the next state over!), and her name was Shanna. When Jacob was abducted, Shanna included information about Jacob and the circumstances, along with a small poster of him with one of her letters.
Both of us were truly affected by his disappearance. For one thing, he was so close to our age. And, even more astounding was that he was abducted very nearby his home, in the presence of his brother and his friend. It could have happened to any of us.
Shanna and I lost touch at some point during high school, but I sometimes google Jacob to see if there are any updates on his case. Today, on my iGoogle page, where it shows the current most searched items, I noticed that Jacob Wetterling was at the top of the list this morning.
Turns out that breaking news revealed that over 17 unmarked police cars were parked outside the farm very near where Jacob had been abducted. More info to come. Read this article for more information about the current situation...though it doesn't give much yet.
I hope we finally get some answers, Jacob.
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