Writing introductions is a bit tedious so....just take a look at my first post if you want to know more....

....and if you get curious about the name of this World or my posts, check out the second one.

Back from Blind

Spring Break was too short. And at the same time too long. Too short for me to do anything relaxing. Too long a time spent doing things that were necessary. Too long of being switched "on", a feeling I never thought I'd have in Gainesville. Too short for my brain to reset itself and gear up for another round of jr. high kids and their teachers this month.

...do my knuckles look extra white?

I was really looking forward to going to Florida before the break. A lot more than I had been the first time I went. And in some ways this trip was better. I was expecting things (like huge grocery stores and weird looking money) so I didn't freak out when I got there. It was warm, even hot on a few days. But it was mostly just a whirlwind of shopping, doctors, events, and drama. Oh the petty Gainesville drama. How I loathe it.

...at least we make a cute picture...

My dad - married to a woman with the same haircut as him
My mom - starting to look creepily like my grandmother
My stepdad - building a fishtank the size of a truck (literally!)
My new stepmom - doesn't talk, just looks at me
My brother - chasing some girl who only calls back one out of three times
My stepsister - has become an insomniac
Her ugly husband - tried to have a conversation w/me about Bleach, as if he knew something...
Their son - kinda cross eyed
Their daughter - getting cuter, but still slow in the mental area in my opinion
My gay cousin - getting increasingly more offensive tattoos (the latest is of two gay cowboys with no pants)
His older sister - still dating a guy 12 years older than her with no job
Their mom - bailed the boyfriend out of jail
Their dad - has no clue about any of it
My best friend - sneaking beers in her bedroom closet (yes, she is 30 years old)
My former coworkers - annoyed that I couldn't make more time to sit around with them while they talk about people I don't know

...I pulled off the "killing intent" expression better than I thought....

In spite of all that, the last two days of the break, when I returned to Shizuoka, (and a large part of the week that followed) made up for all that short/long time spent in the home that isn't mine anymore. It was like everything fell into place when I read that sign in the airport that says, "Welcome home" in Japanese. Best thing about the Narita airport - when the customs man looks at my Visa and says, "You're a teacher? Please, go right ahead!" And then it was anime shopping, and anime-song karaoke with my (now high school) girls on Saturday, a random encounter that led to cosplay and a reunion with an old favorite student on Sunday, free matsuri food from Sarah, & really awesome chocolate cake with Pin, and everybody hugging me and saying, "Welcome home," over and over. Best thing about my new school - being called "cool" behind my back (also, literally) by girls and boys alike.

...but that's because I am cool of course...

The One Who Changed The World

I like to collect quotes, not inspirational junk usually, just bits of songs, something a character said that I could identify with, stuff like that. But once in a while I like a famous one.
There are two ways to look at life, as if nothing is a miracle, or as if everything is. -Albert Einstein

I'd say I definitely get through life on the first half of that. People are often disappointed when the ask me, "What surprised you the most when you first came to Japan?" I can never give them a straight answer. Recently I've started giving an honest one sometimes - not in class of course, there it's just "oh, well, you have to change your shoes inside the school!" or some other similar lie they're happy to hear - but now that I can express myself better I've tried to explain to some of my friends that I wasn't surprised by anything. Not because I knew about everything that I would encounter beforehand or anything, just because I don't get surprised by stuff. I just accept it. What is, is. Of course I might not like some things, I might want (or try) to change some things, but the simple fact that they exist doesn't phase me.

I guess I'm kinda like Oz-kun here. "Oh, my dad tried to kill me and when I woke up it was 10 years in the future. Oh well, that's life, guess I'll help out this chick who keeps turning into a giant rabbit and attacking people since she's hanging around me." No, "What the hell happened to me??" or "Why the hell does a rabbit use a scythe?!?" Just, "That's life. Let's get on with it." Makes things easier on everyone.

I work with a teacher right now who's amazingly smart. I totally love her, and being at current my school is easier because of her. For some reason she belongs to the second school of thought in Einstein's quote. It seems incongruous with the way a smart person should be, but it just makes me like her more. Maybe because the "everything" she finds miraculous isn't the things that people usually get excited over. Me eating an apple without cutting it, for example. Sooooo tired of that one.....

No, the things she finds interesting, while I would never even begin to want to think about them on my own.......for some reason when she talks about them I start to see the miracle in them too. Like a story about a deaf and blind man whose mother developed a whole new system of braille just for him using hand holding. Now, he's a university professor. Or a book about how to sew bags with intricate designs to match your kimono. Thinking about it after the fact I'll realize I don't care a bit about that stuff. Yet for some reason while she's telling me about it I do. And not in a fake way.

Recently she's been lending me books she gets from the library. Sewing books, cookbooks, stuff my mom would like, not me. Definitely not me. I look at them when I'm bored at school. Which is pretty often. I ended up photocopying a bunch of recipes this week. I can't cook the stuff of course, and I only really have one person who'll occasionally cook for me, but I wanted them anyway. Weird....

The Wrath

WARNING: Spoilers!! Do not read if you:
A. Read Naruto and are not caught up to the Japanese manga
B. Are planning on reading Naruto someday and don't want the story ruined for you
C. You've never read or seen past the 4th installment of the Harry Potter saga and want to

That being said, I'll still black out the really important stuff.

I hate Sasuke. Sure, I just drew him, and he looks cool, but that was a request by a kid I really like. I couldn't just do a bad job on it. Anyway, I've never been a big fan of him, or characters like him in any story for that matter. I can see the appeal of say, Ichimaru Gin, or Mukuro, or hm.....can't find the Naruto equivalent at the moment, but anyway....I can see the appeal of the smooth villain. I don't like them, but I can see it.

I hate Sasuke because he makes people like him. Girls loooove him in fact. And he's basically just an asshole. He's concieted, rude, heartless, and doesn't give a damn about using or hurting people. It's becoming more and more evident that Naruto won't be able to redeem him in the end like he's done for so many other characters. Despite Sasuke being his "best friend" and the one he wants to save the most. Sasuke's going to have to be killed by Naruto in the end.

But I swear to all that is holy or evil or anywhere in existence if Sasuke kills Kakashi I will be in a bad mood for at least a year! When Kakashi was "dead" for a while during the Pain arc I was soooo out of it I didnt't even realize what was going on. I considered giving up reading the manga altogether, but........well, I have to know the end of the story!

I've heard arguments made before that Naruto in some ways parallels Harry Potter. Or that there are similarities between the main characters' lives anyway. When Sirius was killed off I was pretty furious. Actually, no wait, I'm still furious! Anyway, when it happened (or maybe it was after Dumbledore was offed in the 6th book...) there was this essay that went around saying Harry had to have all his supporters stolen away from him so he could stand up to Voldemort on his own. That's all fine and good, but........with Jiraiya being dead, and Kakashi having scraped by once... things seem to be heading that direction for Naruto too. And I'm not cool with it.

Not one bit.

It seems I have a thing for guys who like to get themselves killed for a "good cause".....

Too Early To Trust

"So.......is she cool?" he asks me.
"Um, well, I mean........she's...."
"I'm not asking because I want to sleep with her or anything!"
"Well, you can't anyway, she's getting married." I snap.
"No, I don't want to - I mean, that's not what I'm thinking about right now - ok, I might be, but that's not what I'm asking. What do you think of her?"
"..............I've only known her at school for a month. We just hung out yesterday for the first time. What are you asking me?"
I'm so confused here.

He sighs.
"I'm just trying to find out if you've successfully managed to make a new friend." and looks at the ground.
I'm sooooo confused here.
"Oh." I say.

Oh.
"Well, she's cool I guess......but she's not disgusting."
He laughs, and doesn't ask about her anymore.

"....release your high hopes, and they'll survive...."

The Pride

A while ago I posted this piece of fanart. I finally got to see "Tori-chan" again last weekend to give it to her. She wrote about the event on her blog. Go ahead. Click it. And scroll down. Yeah, that's my Kakashi drawing there w/the chocolates (the ones in the light pink box are the ones I gave her.) If you don't read Japanese & are wondering, most of the entry just describes her day at the event. About the 6th paragraph down it talks about me, and says that she's never gotten that kind of present before and how she was really happy about it. Because I'm just that awesome.

She's drawn Kakashi for me before, and did Iruka this time, but I don't have photos of them. Or rather, I didn't take photos of them. The drawings in that sketchbook aren't for sharing. They're just for me, not for internet pirates. But she also gave me the snacks (the bag that says "Kittyland") in the bottom right of this photo...

...the other stuff (chocolate & a freezer pack) was door prizes at the event. This might have been my favorite one yet.