Still not much

The recruiter for my company, the only contact I have with them so far is proving to be quite unreliable. It's driving me crazy, and Ai seems to be having an even harder time. I don't have much of a problem with not having exact plans, but she has to have everything planned out plenty of time in advance. When people ask me when I'm leaving, I just say "ah, about a week or two". But she wants an exact date so she can plan ahead.

I called the recruiter last week after not hearing from him for a while after I sent in all my paperwork, but he was in a meeting. He sent me an email an hour later though that said, "Thanks for the email" and that he'd call me the next day. He didn't. This Tuesday night I called him again, and again I got an email saying "thanks for the email"... I don't know why he keeps thanking me for emails whenever I call. This time he apologized for not calling me back; he'd been on vacation. He also promised to call me back last night. He didn't. This is getting pretty frustrating since I don't know for sure where I will be working, or when they want me there, or when I will get the Certificate of eligibility to get my visa. If he doesn't call me early this afternoon, I will call again tonight. Agrh!

Sent Documents to Japan

I got my transcripts and a letter saying that I have graduated FedExed to Japan on Thursday, so it should be there on Monday. Now I have to wait for them to get me my certificate of eligibility. Hopefully, Kerry will let me know how log it should take. I think that certificate of not, I will buy my plane tickets next week. The price is going up every day I wait, so I've got to do it soon. Right now I'm shooting for the 15th. If I could get there sooner, it would give Ai enough time to help me find an apartment, but after the 12th, she is in school. Right now, I am fully expecting to have to go to Korea, be I would like to avoid it for now.

My mom is coming up to B'ham to help move me out tomorrow, so I have to get my stuff packed up. I canceled my internet yesterday, so I am at the HorseShoe using their internet. I will have to get used to not having internet in the air at home. I will even have to use dail-up when I get to my parents house! I don't thing there is anywhere with internet in the air around Bonney Lake.

Time to pack!

Don't I look graduated?

You didn't think I would graduate without putting something piratey on my cap did you?

I'm done!!

I turned my paper it today. It was pretty close. I finished typing it at exactly 3pm, the time it was due, but they I had to print it, find a report cover thing, and sprint over to my teachers office to turn it in. I'm not worried about it or my history class (since I am such a great student...). My ceremony will be Saturday at 10 am, and Lousie, Saki and I are having a graduation party at Laurel's house. Call me if you need directions.

Next week I plan to spend riding my bike. I haven't ridden it for ever, at least not for anything other than transportation. My legs are going to die.

Basically I am just waiting up here until they print my transcripts. I was told that I would be able to get them by next friday, so I will imeadtaely send it off to Interac to get my vias paperwork started. Yesterday they asked me if I would be able to be to start by the third week of April. This is earlier that I had expected, but very good news. I think I may be able to get a position near where I originally wanted too. I guess every thing works itself out eventually.

Yusa

I had an interesting talk with Dr. Yusa, my Japanese professor. It's really strange, but she doesn't really seem so evil anymore; slightly crazy still, but not evil. This is kind of what I had always thought anyway, but it was amplified by only receiving 3 credits for a entire year in Japan. Its been two years now since I came back from Asia University, and I have realized that even if I had gotten more credits, it wouldn't have really done much for me since they would have been 200 level credits. It's kind of a symbolic thing. But I think that actually talking to Yusa has been good. I think that the more we be honest to her about what we think about the program and such, the more she will try to change things. I have definitely noticed that they way she teaches has gotten better. I think she also understands the way in which American students think too. She said yesterday that Chinese and Korean students will take anything that their teachers tell them as truth, and memorize every word. Japanese students are somewhat similar. American students on the other hand, study what they want to. They don't necessarily follow their professors every word. I think this makes us more independent, and research that we do can come out more creative and unique. This also makes it harder for teachers. They have to figure out what the students want or they will not be effective. I think she is trying to do this.

We also talked about what I am doing in the future and my job in Japan. She asked if I was going to do something related to computers, which I have considered. I was generally the person she asked about for tech problems because she knew I work for ATUS, but then she suggested that I could teach sailing. I was shocked. I guess I probably talked about sailing sometime, probably at her house last year when she had a party for the 300 level class. It made me realize that she actually knows something about us if we ever made a effort to talk to her.

I think the best thing that came out of our chat was that I was able to talk about what I thought were the strengths and weaknesses of the Japanese program at Western. I let her know what I think most of us studying Japanese want. For me, becoming more communicative. Of corse, I wasn't completely at ease, I still couldn't tell her that we all hate the text book...

Papers

How many times have I started a blog post out like that? Must be a dozen times by now. Louise and I have been in the library, sometimes writing, sometimes goofing off for the last 5 hours. She has actually been in there longer. I have about a half page. I finally decided what to write about. It's pretty much what I was going to write about forever, but I actually found a good article or two. Time to stop procrastinating and get it done though. I have less than two weeks! All I have left are two tests, two papers, and one concert. Louise and I are having our graduation party on Friday night of finals week at Laurel's house (we still have to ask her though). Time to write!

$20,000 is a lot of money.

Birthday

Birthday was fun. I went to Boundary Bay with Louise and Briged at 9, and ordered beer and pizza. Rachel was the first to come, but she didn't stay long since her schedule is crazy and she doesn't know how to drive. We had to call Laurel twice before she came. TJ, Emily, and Alisa were there too. Pizza was good, beer was great, and they gave us brownies and ice cream with a candle. So I'm old now. 23. wow.

Bush Must Go!

Bush has done a lat of bad things during his presidency. he is so far in the pockets of corporation that I don't understand how anyone can't see it. He misled Americans into supporting his war to get oil, but his latest attempt to destroy what any semblance of a respectable free nation that we have left, he is trying to write discrimination and oppression back into the constitution. He is trying to undo the work of more than 200 years of struggle for the basic freedoms and rights that Jefferson wrote about in the preamble to the Constitution.

The US is supposed to be a secular state. This too is written into the Constitution. Yet somehow many of our politicians seem to forget this. What about 'Under God' on our currency and in the Pledge that children recite every morning? That was added in the '50s when the nation was so afraid of the Communists. Is it applicable? No. We are one of the most diverse nations in the world. We are NOT a Christian nation as some want us to believe (or become). Bush is trying to have us believe that gay marriage is a threat. The Governator of California even speculated that continuing to allow gay marriages will result in violence and rioting!

Bush is of the position that marriage is a purely religion institution, and since his religion finds gay couples morally wrong, it should be illegal. What's the difference though if I were to go to a courthouse with my girlfriend and get a married by a judge? I will not be having a Christian wedding. Does my marriage constitute a threat as defined by Bush? If Bush thinks he can impose his Christian ideals on Americans through constitutional amendments, then what is the difference between him, and Muslim Clerics in Iran, or the Taliban in Afghanistan? In the 1960's Iran, makeup, miniskirts and high heels were just as popular among young women in Iran as they were in other parts of the world. I don't think Bush has a chance of passing a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriages, but if he does, it will mark the beginning of the loss of any rights we have left.