Weekly Writing Check-In: IN AMERICA...we get sick.

Hello all! I am back, yet again. Hopefully for good this time. As of yesterday I am officially moved back in America. I had a lovely and fun vacation in Tokyo, although silly me went out bar-hopping in Shinjuku Wednesday night...and if you don't know, bars in Japan are REALLY small...like, seating only 10 people. Which mean they're very, very crowded. And smoking is still a big thing in Japan, especially in bars. And little ol allergic-to-smoke me was surrounded by cigarette smoke and a friend who just got over the flu, and with my lowered immune system at the time, I woke up thursday with...a cough! Oh. Well you can imagine how well  I handled a cough on a 24 hour trip home. Remember Christmas when I came home and I instantly had laryngitis? Remember the flu I had earlier this month? It's time for both!

So yeah, sick again. Although doing better now that I've finally found the right OTC drugs to take. But yes, checking in to let y'all know what's going on with this blog. Entries should be resuming their normal pattern this following week as planned, unless I super-die from this flu again. See you around! And don't hang out in Japanese bars with a low immune system! <3

Weekly Writing Check-In: Awards! Editing! Yay!

Things have been rather hectic this week - in preparation of moving home I've began packing, and woah, all my stuff doubled since I moved here last year! (And I've been diligently shipping things home once a week, so this is quite a feat) and of course I'm just all in a tizzy because stuff is getting expensive up in hurr. I just keep telling myself that ~everything will be fine~ but you know, moving stress!

On the editing front, I've finally plowed through evil chapter 8 and think I've edited it as much as I can now. There reaches a point where all you can think is "WORDS DON'T MEAN ANYTHING ANYMORE" when you read the same scene over and over again.

Moving on...it's award time! Wow, it's been a while! But the wonderful Yelena Casale has given me not one but TWO awards! Woo hoo! Here's the first one:

Sunshine Award

• Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.
• Write a post about it.
• Answer the questions below.
• Pass it on to 10 bloggers who you think really deserve it and let them know.

Here are the questions:

Favorite color: Orange. I should hope it's obvious by now.

Favorite animal: Cats. There are no other animals.

Favorite number: Anything except 9.

Favorite non-alcoholic drink: Water.

Facebook or Twitter: Both are pretty good at ruining any day by showing off how awful people can be.

My passion: Writing, cats, and (listening to/writing about) music.

Getting or giving presents: I would say "getting" but then that just means I'm getting more crap.

Favorite pattern: ...what.

Favorite day of the week: On a standard week - Saturday. Because you can sleep in AND stay up late. All other days are wannabe posers.

Favorite flower: Rose, I guess? I'm not really partial to any specific flower. So long as they're orange.

The next award!

Kreative Blogger Award

This award requires giving 7 random facts about oneself. Well, okay....


1. I have lived in Japan three times now for varying lengths and with some time in between - however, I'm moving back to America at the end of this month. See above for my packing woes.

2. Part of my packing woes come from me buying so many cheap Japanese CDs here. I collect CDs, particularly those of Asian artists. I currently own about over 400.

3. I can't imagine a happy life without at least one badass cat in it.

4. Up until I was 20 I had very long hair. So long that I could sit on it. I finally got tired of it and realized it no longer fit the image I had of myself and cut it all off into a "pixie" style I still keep today. It suits me much more.

5. I consider myself a fan of video games but I play very few. My eternal loves will always be Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda. Nintendo 4 lyfe. (Final Fantasy wishes it was so cool.)

6. Soup and chocolate are my favorite foods, but never shall the two meet.

7. I wear fashionable wigs whenever I damn well feel like it. My favorite is a blond pixie style. (Sometimes you just gotta be blond.)

Done! Now it's time to pass these on...hm, who shall it be?

Sarah Pearson 
HR Sinclair 
Aldrea Alien
Danika Dinsmore 
Alessandra Hinlo
Susan Francino 
Angela Cothran 

Sorry if you've already received one or both of these...or am I? ;)

/back to editing
/um i mean packing
/lbr I'm playing sims.

Weekly Writing Check-In: Lost my mind - anybody got a net?

This is your brain on fail.

Well, haven't really "lost my mind". I've just got a lot of stressful stuff going on. As most of you know I live in Japan until April, when I'm moving me and all the crap I've accumulated (well, the stuff that matters) back to the States. Until then, I have people coming to visit, and a lot, and I mean a lot of legal paperwork and errands to run to make sure I stay legal here. Needless to say, lots of stressful cleaning, lots of stressful run-ins with no-English government officials, lots of phone calls, and oh yeah, running around half the area to fill in at schools because the plague is wiping out everyone around here.

Bleh. I have time to write, but stress is such a mood killer. Not to say I haven't been writing. Been doing my usual 500-1000 words every day (usually 500 before going to bed and 500 the next day, repeat) and settling down for editing again starting in March when I get back from my business trip.So, I've just been really, really busy. Trying to stay "upbeat" in the sense of not getting too run down and keeping my eyes on the prize, so to speak. It's amazing what motivation can help you punch through.

Now excuse me, everyone, I need to go obsess over some paperwork and rework my schedule AGAIN because an old friend wants to drop by the day I was originally going to go renew my work visa. To the planner!... :(