12 November 2009 @ 02:06 am


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12 November 2009 @ 05:40 pm
11/5/09-Thursday
We had an extra day off this week, Culture Day was on Tuesday. We didn't do much - we're now trying to keep our spending to an average of $15 a day or less, some days we don't spend money, so we should be able to do that until payday. After we get paid, we will be making a little more than we were at home.
On another note, as soon as November came, it turned cold! I thought I would finally be somewhere where I'd have the advantage, being from a cold rainy climate instead of a near-tropical one like they are. Well, sure enough, it stayed 10-20 degrees warmer than Seattle everyday, but it doesn't matter when there is no heating and you leave all the windows open! The sun is shining in, if the windows were closed they'd help keep it warm. But no…so my hands and arms are stiff and sore, and I have 3 layers of jackets and sweaters. It's okay, I know I'm not the only one who's cold - they're just better at not complaining than Americans. (What is odd to me though is that they set up air purifiers in every room because of the flu, when the power would probably be better spent on keeping people warm. I haven't been worried about getting sick so far, but if I stay this cold, I might.
 
 
11 November 2009 @ 11:50 pm
 
 
11 November 2009 @ 03:26 pm
New hard drive, 1TB Seagate from Staples: Acquired.

Sleep: Had.

Websites launched: Not yet.

Spanish: Been practicing, still a lot to learn.

To work!
 
 
11 November 2009 @ 02:05 am


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10 November 2009 @ 11:50 pm
  • 19:10 Back home in Renton with mom in tow!
  • 20:54 Did a #FortuneTwitter reading on whether it was not going to work out with my client and a man. www.earthshod.com/fortunetwitter.html
  • 20:56 Did a SMS reading for a client on whether she would ever get over a past love. www.earthshod.com/sms.html
  • 21:29 My book is at 17,504 words! #NaNoWriMo
 
 
10 November 2009 @ 02:45 pm
Guh.  
Today can suck my butt.

Got no sleep.

Mike's hard drive has died.

Monroe offers sweet FA in the way of computer hardware, though Staples may have one, waiting to hear back.

STILL haven't launched those two sites. Waiting to hear from people.

Good: Fresh doughnuts at Sultan bakery at 5:30AM, Friendly barista at 6:00AM.
 
 
Current Mood: annoyed
 
 
10 November 2009 @ 02:05 am

  • 14:58:04: Went with mom to meet her transplant nephrologist and recipient coordinator. Finished up a lot of banking business of my own.
  • 15:05:26: Did a #FortuneTwitter reading for a client on whether or not she should call a specific person. http://www.earthshod.com/fortunetwitter.html
  • 16:19:19: AbiWord isn't working! But I wrote 1,692 words in MS Works. If my book hasn't been eaten by my computer, it'll be at 16,055. #NaNoWriMo

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09 November 2009 @ 11:50 pm
  • 13:58 Went with mom to meet her transplant nephrologist and recipient coordinator. Finished up a lot of banking business of my own.
  • 14:05 Did a #FortuneTwitter reading for a client on whether or not she should call a specific person. www.earthshod.com/fortunetwitter.html
  • 15:19 AbiWord isn't working! But I wrote 1,692 words in MS Works. If my book hasn't been eaten by my computer, it'll be at 16,055. #NaNoWriMo
 
 
09 November 2009 @ 02:04 am

  • 11:04:24: My book is now 14,363 words! #NaNoWriMo Finished writing early today since I'll be leaving for Vancouver, BC, after a spiritual workshop.

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09 November 2009 @ 12:41 am
Rustycon's Art show info is updated!

Sign on in and get yourself a spot! If you've created steampunk, science fiction, science, or fantasy themed artwork, sculpture, jewelry, or photography, sign on in. This is a great opportunity to sell your work, your prints, and get recognized!

Rustycon is the Northwest's first science fiction convention of the year, it runs January 15-17th, 2010. The hotel is awesome, and this year promises to be the best so far. If you want to stay and party(and you should), Hotel rooms are a worthwhile $99 a night.
 
 
Current Mood: excited
 
 
08 November 2009 @ 11:50 pm

  • 10:04 My book is now 14,363 words! #NaNoWriMo Finished writing early today since I'll be leaving for Vancouver, BC, after a spiritual workshop.

 
 
08 November 2009 @ 06:23 pm
My work days are more exciting. Jeebus.

Free-Range Pork and...Normal stuff )
 
 
Current Mood: drained
 
 
08 November 2009 @ 04:36 pm
Good Grief by Lolly Winston was my 100th book for the year. This is essentially a chick-lit book, which are pretty rare on my grandmother's list, but it feels a little more complex. The chapters are loosely based on the stages of grief, with some additions (the chapter titled Oreos, for example.) I often don't enjoy books based on grief, but although this book was heartbreaking in parts, it was also extremely funny - often on the same page. An excerpt relatively near the beginning of the book, for example: I could barely talk during the weeks after the memorial service. "Herg," I'd stutter when people asked how I was doing. They would touch the small of my back of gently cup a hand under my elbow. They would not say, "Honey, 'herg' is not a word." Winston's voice is great, making otherwise-ridiculous characters relatively realistic. At times sad and at others funny and even heartwarming, this is my idea of perfect reading for an airplane or a beach.

A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books by Alex Beam. I added a bunch of "books about books" to my reading list recently (after Rereadings by Anne Fadiman, I think), and this was one of those. Maybe because I'm young enough that I missed the Great Books craze, I didn't really understand that the Great Books in the title were the Encyclopedia Brittanica Great Books of the Western World, not just some great books in general. (That does explain how the book is so short, though!) This book tells the history of the Great Books, their selection, and the men who were instrumental in the printing and selection. Beam follows the men through their lives, often to colleges around the US, including the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and St. John's.

While I think that the idea that anyone can and should read the classics, I find the idea of Great Books-based college programs to be counterproductive in the "great books for everyone" concept: The only people who can afford to spend four years studying nothing but what was written in the Great Books are those people who don't need to prepare in one way or another for a real career, effectively turning those schools into finishing schools for upper-class men who need no more real skills than the ability to discuss Moliere or Thucydides. Beam even notes that St. John's graduates have to spend an extra year and a half learning Biology and Chemistry before taking the MCATs, because reading Fourier's old texts doesn't teach the facts that a modern scientist would need.

I don't have a problem with great books, or even the Great Books, but I think they are better discussed in adult ed classes, rather than as the entire curriculum at a modern university. And although the book may have been a little disjointed in parts, switching between the men behind the Great Books, colleges that taught the Great Books, and the Great Books themselves, it was an interesting read.
 
 
08 November 2009 @ 02:05 am


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07 November 2009 @ 11:50 pm
 
 
07 November 2009 @ 09:00 pm
11/4 - This past weekend (Halloween) we decided to walk to the park near my school to get some exercise, and because I'd seen a sign for a fall festival. It's about a 35-minute walk to the entrance from our apartment. They were giving pony rides to kids! Apparently Dahlias are popular here, because an area was fenced off and full of Dahlia sellers. There were a few food booths as well. Then we noticed another half to the park, across the road, that Id never noticed before. The large half! Strange, since it's adjacent to my school, that I'd never noticed it….We wandered around there for a bit. It's a beautiful park! There is a restaurant, a man made lawn "beach" down to the river where kids can play, and many fountains and other water features, including a koi pond with giant koi!

Photobucket

I also found it neat that they had "camp cabins" with an outdoor recreation area, a forest, and barbecue area. The cabins looked very comfortable, and there was a maid changing the sheets in one of them. I'll bet they're even heated and air conditioned.
The other thing that amazed me was the playground! It's like their crazy obstacle course gameshows. It's what happens when lawsuits aren't as big of an issue. We need to go back there when it's not so busy to try it out. The slides are about the height of tall watersides, and are equipped with rollers! This means you don't stop halfway down. There are other neat features, like a swinging -log-balance beam over a net, and a LONG slider on a cable. There is an underground network of tunnels that come up in random areas around the playground. The entrance looks like a cave, and a hard hat is required. We didn't get to try any of this out though, because I felt self-conscious about not having any kids with us and being the only foreigners.

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On our walk home, a kitten lunged out of the bushes and pounced on Brandon's feet. It started purring and tried to climb up repeatedly. It was a busy road, so we were worried about it. And it wouldn't stop following us! We ran down the road and back, but the little kitten kept up. Finally, we led it down a less busy road, near the yard it came from. It found a place in the field to sit, and stayed there as we left. Poor thing, I think it was hungry.

Photobucket
 
 
Current Location: Koga, Japan
Current Mood: cheerful
 
 
07 November 2009 @ 08:31 pm
11/3 - During lunch, I was trying to figure out how they achieve a "sweets" taste totally unique to Asian (Usually Japanese) food. It's the flavor of Kitsune udon, or Inarizushi. We had sweet potatoes that tasted like that today. The tea lady told me it's sugar, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Of course! I'll have to try that at home now.
 
 
07 November 2009 @ 02:04 am


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06 November 2009 @ 11:50 pm
  • 10:21 Did a #FortuneTwitter reading on somebody wanting to develop psychic talents. www.earthshod.com/fortunetwitter.html
  • 11:17 Blogging: Press Release - Fortune Teller Predicts Partnership With Educators bit.ly/3PVsBB
  • 12:59 From @FoxNews, "Crystal Ball Boom: Psychics, Tarot Card Readers Profit in Tough Economy" digs.by/itr
  • 15:36 My book is now 10,584 words long! #NaNoWriMo
  • 21:25 Did a #FortuneTwitter reading on whether a client's relationship is going anywhere. www.earthshod.com/fortunetwitter.html
 
 
07 November 2009 @ 01:56 pm
Old entries again, sorry they take so long to type out. Please pay attention to the dates I put in there :)

11/2/09 Brandon asked me to be his girlfriend 6 years ago!!! It's sure been nice having a best friend always by my side since then. Every day I notice things that we just happen to agree on, that I know not everyone would. (For instance, we both like to be at work 20 minutes early, and when we're trying to save money, it's a question of whether or not the buy that 100¥ candy).

We've been spending WAY to much time watching TV shows, however there was a month where we had nothing to watch. We watch How I met your mother, Big Bang Theory, Castle, Heroes, Peach girl and Marmalade boy. The last two are manga series I loved but never saw the anime they made from it. Ah Peach Girl - the show is about sociopaths. It's a little too familiar, but that's probably what makes it fun.

So, last Friday, at school, I showed up for the second to last class of the day, and the kids all giggled. Schedule changes happen a lot, so this is common. (No one tells me...). Ms. M, the teacher, said "Ah, Katie. Sorry, no class today." She nudged one of the boys forward, trying to get him to explain. He said "we are sightseeing! Eh? No...." He couldn't remember the word. "sightseeing?" I asked, thinking maybe it was a field trip. "Sing! Sing! Watch sing!" He remembered the word. I told him "okay! I understand!" So apparently more singing was going to happen. Ms. M clarified, "We watch opera in the gym. Please go!" Hmmmm....singing, musical, opera? I don't know, but I planned to go to the gym. I went back to my desk in the teachers room. The math teacher asked "Ah, Katie, will you watch opera?" "Yes!" "Maybe in 15 minutes, start. We will go together?" She is so sweet. Her English is quite good. She said she went to an eikaiwa (English conversation school) when she was younger.

So, we got to the gym, and everyone was sitting on the floor. (This time I wore my gym shoes.) It was mostly just students & teachers, but a few family members had come to watch. With the flu going around, one of the teachers handed me a mask to wear.

The match teacher asked "Have you been to opera?" Thinking about church musicals and school plays, I responded, "Yes, but, small opera." She said "Ah, I saw...Lion...King of Lion! Very big!" So apparently Lion King falls under the translation of opera...I still wasn't sure what we were about to watch though. Maybe a school play?

When we sat down, someone gave a speech, talking about "warm applause" and "cold applause," and had the audience practice. (Most of what I understood was in Japanese, although occasionally the match teacher would translate for me.)

The Performers walked in. In beautiful, elaborate evening wear - they looked very European, but they were Japanese. They really were opera singers! The Tochigi Italian Opera troupe, or however that's translated. It was a 2 hour show - the first hour they taught the kids "Aruto" (alto), "basu" (Bass), etc, as each person sang a piece and showed off their vocal range.

During 10 minute intermission, some ostudents noticed me sitting next to the match teacher, and asked her if she spoke English. I said "Jouzu jouzu" gesturing towards her. ("skilled, skilled") They asked her "Ah, sensei! Shaberu! Shaberu!" (Speak! Speak!) So we continued our conversation, as they marveled at the fact that their math teacher can speak English.

The second half of the opera was a performance of an actual opera - I can understand Japanese better than french or Italian, so I got some of it. Kudos to Jacqui for figuring out the name of it so quickly ("The magic flute") from the clues that "it's by Mozart, it started with a snake/dragon attacking a guy, and had either a prince and princess or god and goddess. Wasn't sure which."

It was very cute, with talented singing. The woman narrating was dressed as Mozart, wig and all. The other costumes were also quite elaborate. I fell very very lucky to be able to experiences things like this while I am here. The school has been nothing but wonderful to me.
 
 
06 November 2009 @ 01:41 pm
Apparently emergency repairs on Howard Hansen Dam have significantly reduced the risk of the Green River flooding

So one in 25 chance... instead of 1 in 3, whatever that means.
ANYWAY... 13000 CFS? Really? For a river that size, that's only a couple days of good rain, though I suppose it would have to fill the reservoir and then some. I do not envy the people who's shoulders this rests on.

Anyway, to my friends nestled contentedly in the beautiful Green River valley, I'm glad you can breathe a little easier.
 
 
06 November 2009 @ 12:05 pm
Catch Nezzy Idy at El Circo's Scorpio Ball.

 
 
06 November 2009 @ 02:05 am


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06 November 2009 @ 12:19 am
Thunderstorm rolling in, rain just starting. Holy shit. I'm wondering if the worst will stay South of us. I know damn well it's going to back up against the mountains here and dump, though.

One of the house denizens just said her friend in Mukilteo lost power. Time to do a save all.

Not jumpy. notjumpyatall whywouldIbejumpy?

Oh yeah: Happy Bonfire night, Brits! Hope you're having a good one!


Update: Most of it missed us. Fine by me, though my adventurous side is a little disappointed. That's OK, I have brownies!
 
 
Current Mood: Jumpy
 
 
05 November 2009 @ 11:50 pm
  • 09:14 I've officially made it 7 years since I developed schizophrenia. Since the diagnosis has a 10% suicide/accidental death rate, that's great!
  • 11:12 Blogging: Horoscopes bit.ly/1ZynGk
  • 12:18 Did five #FortuneTwitter readings for a client choosing between people to hire. www.earthshod.com/fortunetwitter.html
  • 13:46 Blogging: Ask A Witch: Wanting to be Wanted in Springfield, MA bit.ly/1oSHSF
  • 15:34 My book is now 8,711 words long! #NaNoWriMo
  • 16:39 Heading out to a Renton Chamber of Commerce event!
  • 19:04 Did a #FortuneTwitter on a client's gifted children! www.earthshod.com/fortunetwitter.html
  • 19:46 I should be working on February Horoscope columns, but I can't seem to keep my eyes open, so instead I'm going to play Entropia Universe.
 
 
05 November 2009 @ 09:19 pm
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. When an old and beautiful haggadah appears in Sarajevo, Hanna Heath is hired to restore it. This novel tells Hanna's story, with interweaving vignettes about those who were involved with the book, from its creation to its circuitous route to Sarajevo. The story is made more interesting by the fact that it's based on a real book, with some parallels to the real Sarajevo Haggadah's story included where possible. This was a really lovely novel.

Chocolat by Joanne Harris. This delicious book starts when Vianne Rocher and her young daughter move to a small town in France. She opens a chocolate shop, befriends gypsies, and doesn't attend church, which does not endear her to the local priest. Although I remember the movie (with Juliette Binoche and Johnnie Depp) as significantly lighter and less complex, I think I actually liked it a little better than the book.
 
 
Oh, I'm just going to stop off at Wal-Mart to get some party decorations, some diet coke and a case of flu for me and the kids.

I hope this flu epidemic helps people take a second look at attendance policies. -But what do we do?

I'm a business owner. There are a LOT of burdens put on us if we want to take on a full-time employee. That employee would basically have to bring in over two times their salary for us to break even. I think it's ridiculous that the employer is responsible for health care- mostly due to the fact this has made employers take a little too much interest in what I'm doing outside of work, not cool. Employers also have to pay social security and insurance. To simplify, an employer can pay you $10 an hour legit or $20 under the table (So if you're unemployed, you might want to take a second look at contracting).

Everyone calls in to work, I've seen countless people take unfair advantage of the sick leave policy at employers' expense, and I've seen a lot of people who needed a more lenient policy.

What needs to come about in this country -especially for the retail industry and part time people- is basically a pregnancy test type device that will turn color if someone's contagious. Pink! Woohoo! You're getting paid to stay home.
No, this doesn't help the partyers, the people with non-contagious ailments, or the ones with sick kids so much, but it's a start. Though gawd help us if they start using it on airplanes or something... huh
 
 
Current Mood: tired
 
 
05 November 2009 @ 02:04 am

  • 10:13:50: Lookout, it's official national Use Your Common Sense Day!
  • 13:21:45: Did an email tarot reading for a client to find out whether a specific guy was interested in her! #LPHappiness
  • 15:04:20: RT @KeenPsychic: Which Is Most Accurate: Crystal Ball, Tarot Cards, Tea Leaves, or Palm Readings? @Earthshod answers: http://bit.ly/2p6keN
  • 15:06:51: My horoscope: "Everything alive waxes and wanes. If you're smart, you honor that flow by periodically letting parts of your world wither."
  • 15:31:44: Did a #FortuneTwitter reading for a client feeling paranoid after bad relationship experience. http://www.earthshod.com/fortunetwitter.html
  • 17:00:40: I now have 600 Facebook Friends! Thanks! Please Fan my business Page, as I need 1k Fans in order to claim my username! http://su.pr/2Tqw7U
  • 18:43:29: Someone wanted me to write their horoscope column for free: "U R GOING TO HAVE GREAT EXPOSURE WITHING THE SHOW BUSINESS INDUSTRY." Um. No.
  • 19:30:44: My book is now 7,038 words long! #NaNoWriMo

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04 November 2009 @ 11:50 pm
  • 09:13 Lookout, it's official national Use Your Common Sense Day!
  • 12:21 Did an email tarot reading for a client to find out whether a specific guy was interested in her! #LPHappiness
  • 14:04 RT @KeenPsychic: Which Is Most Accurate: Crystal Ball, Tarot Cards, Tea Leaves, or Palm Readings? @Earthshod answers: bit.ly/2p6keN
  • 14:06 My horoscope: "Everything alive waxes and wanes. If you're smart, you honor that flow by periodically letting parts of your world wither."
  • 14:31 Did a #FortuneTwitter reading for a client feeling paranoid after bad relationship experience. www.earthshod.com/fortunetwitter.html
  • 16:00 I now have 600 Facebook Friends! Thanks! Please Fan my business Page, as I need 1k Fans in order to claim my username! su.pr/2Tqw7U
  • 17:43 Someone wanted me to write their horoscope column for free: "U R GOING TO HAVE GREAT EXPOSURE WITHING THE SHOW BUSINESS INDUSTRY." Um. No.
  • 18:30 My book is now 7,038 words long! #NaNoWriMo