I have some concerns about going to Japan. Not enough to make me not want to go, but they are concerns, nonetheless.
First, I don’t know the language. Usually this doesn’t bother me, but the only other countries I’ve been to have been Spanish speaking, except France, but my mom (who is fluent) was there so no worries right? Plus, most other countries speak functional English (and probably more correct English than most Americans, if we’re honest).
The food REALLY scares me. Again, not enough to only eat McDonald’s (because what kind of crappy tourist does THAT?!), but enough to warrant some concern. Mostly about how it’s going to affect me, internally. Also, I hate mushrooms with the fire of a thousand suns and they’re in everything in Japan, so sayeth my brother. I also really don’t want to mistakenly eat fish testicles. I’m just sayin’. But sushi? Bring it on.
I worry that I’ll struggle with non-western bathrooms. It’s too hard to describe them, so here’s a picture.
Glorious, right? How the hell does a chick use one of those??? Enough said. But the merciful thing is that most places in Japan have at least one western toilet in every women’s bathroom. So I’m really not that worried.
Getting around is going to be interesting. Walking is always a preferred mode for me when I’m travelling, but it’s also supposed to be rather rainy when we’re there so taxis and trains are going to be ideal for those times. I have no idea how an AMERICAN subway works, let alone a Japanese one! It’ll be hilarious, to say the least.
But my biggest concern?
Not having enough memory in my camera for photos. Scares the hell out of me.
I have decided that the worst part of a vacation, without a doubt, is not the coming back to work after it.
It's the week (or in my case, month) before leaving that is the most torturous part.
The last month, but two weeks specifically, at work have been absolutely horrifying. It's been busy, demanding and and all-around shit fest. Normally, I really like my job and I really like what I do. But lately it's just been hard...in ways that it normally shouldn't be. There is too much change and too much movement, not enough constancy and certainly not enough consistency. I find myself getting frustrated with minute things and tasks and yet leaning on them to make it though the day. Filing has become one of the ways that I pass time. I hate filing and I now look forward to it. I actually ALLOW it to pile up so that I have something to do in order to feel productive.
Granted, this last week was an anomaly because of technical issues, but lately I have felt incredibly useless. I find myself wiling away the hours on the internet (something I've been cautioned against in the past). But honestly, how many times can I say "I have nothing to do", "I can help with anything", "Please give me more accounts" or any variation?
I feel that I have made it clear that I love my job and love what I do. I have said that I want more responsibility. It's not like I WANT to dick around on the internet all day. In fact, I'd prefer it if I were so busy at work that the only outside connection I have with the world is Twitter or...nothing.
More changes are inevitable at the office, though I wish that they weren't (for selfish personal reasons), but they might benefit me in the end. I don't know.
So between worrying about not having anything to do and making sure that I'm caught up enough to feel good about leaving for an entire week, I have been under far too much stress.
Today will be a big day of studying, laundry and not much else. Exciting.
I haven't yet figured out what, exactly, inspired this. I have "virgin" hair, not yet touched by the likes of professional grade hair dyes...I've never even gotten highlights.
But I think being a blonde might be a grand ol' time! Not like Playboy Bunny blonde...a platinum I am not. But some color of blonde. I should probably make an appointment with my stylist soon...even though I won't be getting this done until well after Easter.
Jillian Michaels is completely insane. And yet I contintue to inflict pain upon myself via her 30 Day Shred workout thing. I took about two weeks off from the madness to go to the actual gym and try my hand (feet?) at running.
Ummm....my dog is snoring incredibly loudly right now. Hilarious.
Surprisingly, between the working out (and getting my ass handed to me by Jillian) and my recent membership to Weight Watchers (don't mock), I feel a lot better about myself than I have in the last year or so. And I'm happily 5.4 pounds lighter today than I was about a month ago.
I've done nearly everything in my power to make this excess weight go away. I've tried calorie counting. I've tried South Beach. I've tried The Biggest Loser diet. I've tried ... every damn thing I can think of. I never ever ever wanted to try the Weight Watchers thing. I guess I sort of thought there was some weird stigma attached to it. I'm not sure why. But I figured, it's the only thing I HAVEN'T tried and I watched my mom and sister lose insane amounts of weight a few years ago. So I gave it a whirl.
And yes. It does work.
And I get to wake up happy every morning, actually excited about stepping on the scale and "weighing in". It's good to feel that way.
I am a Britney Spears fan. I’ve been a fan since …Baby, One More Time. I own all the albums and the majority of them, I actually went to the store to buy.
I am the most uncloseted Britney fan you will EVER meet. Guaranteed.
The funny thing about celebrities is that, all too often, we see them as these untouchable, God-like creatures who don’t go to the bathroom and who don’t (or shouldn’t) have issues. I think that’s where the majority of the problem lies.
Celebrities can’t make mistakes. Hell, they can’t even go outside wearing sweats and t-shirt without being scrutinized and mocked and flashed all over the tabloids and television. It’s so weird! I can’t imagine a life where I couldn’t just sit at Starbucks in my Saturday uniform (yoga pants, tank top and tennies) drinking a latte and reading a book without being harassed in some manner or another. What kind of a life is that?
I often find myself reading review of music and movies on Plugged In, Focus on the Family’s pop culture website. I used to appreciate the reviews for what they were, but then they went and really distorted a Will Smith song a few years ago. After I wrote a rather scathing letter to the reviewer, I began reading the reviews with different eyes…and probably with some amount of mental masochism.
I just read their review of Circus by Britney. I’ll be the first to admit that there are moments on the album that are rather…tarty. “If U Seek Amy” is probably the finest example (and if you haven’t figured out by now that she’s saying “F-U-C-K me”, well, now you know).The woman is a sex symbol. Let’s be clear about that. She’s not someone I’d want my daughter to idolize. She’s not the ideal role model…she never really was (which begs the question: does any celebrity ever WANT to be a role model? Or is that forced upon them?).
But in the same breath, let’s also be clear that she’s a 27-year-old single mother. She has issues. She probably has a mental illness in the form of bi-polar disorder or something like it.
I can’t really imagine what it must have been like to go through a painful divorce and custody battle in front of the world and then have a forced institutionalization splashed all over everywhere.That’s horrible! And shame on the media for doing it.
So when Focus on the Family calls her a “Salacious Tart” I say better a tart who is getting her life together than a whacked out little girl on the verge of losing her children.
Better a scantily clad woman who can provide for her family than a flip-flop wearin’ nut case who can hardly drag herself from her bed.
Better a woman who can be proud of herself and her accomplishments again than someone who appeared to be on the fast track to unintended personal demise.
A friend once told me that one week at church, her pastor actually asked that his parishioners pray for the girl rather than soak up one more sloppy report of her. I have to agree with him. Be honest: if you had a friend, or even a mere acquaintance, who was going through a divorce and custody battle and then just started teetering on the brink of insanity, what would you do? Pray for her or hope she did something else nutty so you had something to talk about at the water cooler? Would you send good thoughts into the universe or wait around for her to fall off the deep end and not do anything?
So with my trip to Vegas for her show looming mere weeks away, I say MORE POWER TO THE BRITTERS! Tart is up, lady! You do your thang!
