Eine Kleine Nacht-Blogging

お久しぶりですね!

Winter quarter is upon us, and with it comes copious amounts of snow. Time off of class due to snow is nice, but it only serves to further distance me from my classes. I mean, it's weird - I'm taking a host of tough classes, but I've yet to be consumed by them. I don't have tons of homework, all-nighters or fretfully evenings spent at the computer. It's so different from every other quarter of classes I've ever taken and I often find myself wondering if I'm doing something wrong, but no amount of thinking can reveal any deficiencies. So I'm going to have to adjust and enjoy it - after all, spring quarter might be even worse.

So that brings me to what I mean to be the meat of this post: the end is near. I will very soon be out of school and into a different world. It isn't a frightening thought, but it is one that often worms its way into my brain uninvited. So the best thing I can do at this point is to ask myself how I intend to make the best of it.

Graduation entails several things:

A change in living situation.
Starting a new job. (*fingers crossed*)
The repayment of student loans.
Taking on full financial independence.
Being separated from close friends.
The opportunity to create my own space.
The opportunity to pursue a serious relationship.
An opportunity to purchase my own pet.

That's what comes to mind right now anyway. I guess just getting it all out there makes it easier to think about. Anyway, I have to come to grips with making my own way in the world now. It's something I've had some practice in, but I am going to have to be careful not to simply coast along. If I leave Cincinnati I need to make my new location my home. I have to get out there and see things...meet people. I have to keep on top of my finances and be organized - there will be many things to take care of. I have to continue to develop as a person even when my job does not demand it. And of course, it is of great importance that I stay in touch with my friends.

You know, we've all been through a lot together. I really wonder if some people have any clue how much they mean to me. Since I'm bad at articulating my feelings to people, sometimes things I think are obvious get lost in translation. On other occasions I delay my messages in fear of not saying the right things and end up just taking forever, which is rude. I have to work on this sort of thing.

On a side note, I think my first major vacation is going to be to London. The other day I just found myself thinking how I really need to get over there and see England. I don't know why, but it seems like the thing to do. So I'll do it.

Either fortunately or unfortunately I also miss Japan a lot. Not a day passes that the times I spent there don't come to mind. I miss going out drinking with my sempai from work. I miss walking around Asakusa and just taking in the sights, riding the crazy crowded trains, sitting down for yaki-niku with people, getting annoyed at clueless tourists, working my hardest EVERY DAY to learn the frickin' language - and relishing the moments when it paid off! I miss talking and playing Go with Murakami-san, breaking the language barrier down with Harada-san, talking business with Yamada-san and Sakai-san and politics with Tsuchiya-san, and I miss Minami-san always looking out for me. And there's so much more! Ugh, I've split my life into two and now I have to live with it. It's grand but terrible.

So yeah, there's a lot on my mind, but I'm feeling great and very optimistic. Let's see how it all turns out then.