that went well.

Clearly, I am a terrible blogger.

It's ironic that I would decide to try blogging again on one of the more stressful days of my time in Tokyo so far - a day when I have class from 1 to 6 and a job interview. That's the way I am; I plan all of these grand projects, like art commissions and illustrations and blogs, and usually abandon them within 12 hours. But then I get caught in the grinding wheels of daily life and I find myself turning to these abandoned projects for help. So, hello, Blogger. I'm sorry. Please forgive me?

But it's definitely become clear to me that simply blogging about my everyday going-ons, even in such a fantastic city as Tokyo, is not something I do well. I need to come to terms with self-expression and my own writing before I can talk about this new environment and these new people all around me. So, I dug up an old "15 Things You Didn't Know About Me" survey I filled out a while ago. It's a little outdated since I did it freshman year of college, but it reminds me of a me that I've forgotten about (as horribly cliché as that sounds...sorry) and I figure it's a good place to start centralizing myself and how I want to approach this blog. Added some notes from my "current" self in parentheses.
By the way, feel free to do this survey yourself!

1. I have the maturity of a 12-year-old. I can't stop laughing when people make jokes related to sex or poop.
2. The only scar I have is from a surgery I had when I was 9 months old. Clearly, this makes me badass.
3. I don't care what people say; Vitamin Water is flavored diluted rabbit piss. 15 flavors and counting! (Upon my arrival to Japan I learned that Vitamin Water actually has no health benefits whatsoever. So I guess I was somewhat right.)
4. I miss playing violin in good orchestras. (Still do. Should've brought my violin to Japan...this year would have given me so much time to practice and get back into the groove.)
5. I would love to live in a city instead of a town whose entire area I can cross in approximately 15 minutes. (This was referring to Oberlin, since I did this survey in my freshman year. Now that I'm in Tokyo, I've definitely come to appreciate the ability that I had in Oberlin to get up five minutes before my first class and still make it on time.)
6. My lifetime goals include learning ten languages and raising my remarkably low tolerance for alcohol. (Still haven't reached these.)
7. I have too many clothes.
8. I have an unhealthy addiction to online shopping. Hence, #7.
9. I am so baffled by people who wax their eyebrows within millimeters of total oblivion. Why would you do that to yourself?
10. Once I accidentally re-opened an ear piercing that I didn't realize had closed. 
11. I love Moleskine notebooks, but I'm too afraid to write/draw in them and ruin the pages with my stupid crap.
12. When I was little, I was utterly terrified of automatic doors. Elevators, subways, automated garbage cans, that horrible transit train at O'Hare, you name it, I can guarantee I hated it. 
13. I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Ideally, I'd like to be an illustrator, a doctor, an translator, a professional violinist/pianist, a fashion designer, a movie star, a graphic designer, an art gallery curator, Secretary-General of the UN, and Steve Jobs. All at the same time. (Still want to do this.)
14. I believe that everyone picks their nose, no matter how high and mighty they act about it. You're probably doing it right now as you read this. (HA!)
15. After living with Oberlin co-ed bathrooms for a semester, nothing can scare me anymore. (Still true.)

this blog will be pretty boring until september

I am going to Japan to study abroad at Waseda University in 51 days! Now that my visa application documents have arrived, 51 days suddenly seems like too little time. I have yet to crack open my 3rd year Japanese textbook and haven't even begun to think about packing (which, for me, will probably take more than 51 days). So instead of hitting the books and planning for the future with utmost consideration, I decided to set up this blog, because it is clearly the most difficult step of my preparation process. I'm hoping I'll post consistently enough to keep track of what I do, where I go, who I meet, what I see, and (most importantly), what I eat while in Tokyo. But for now, this will be pretty boring to read; it will probably consist of me talking about how much I'm procrastinating.

Also, why does Blogger have such unfortunate templates? Blech.