*Ahem*

I got into Aclipse.

I'm going to South Korea.

Yesssssss.

Dear people in New York who forget how to walk

Quick tutorial: left, right, left, right.

That's not my only point, though. The reason I feel I need to remind you how to walk is because sometimes you abruptly stop moving. Normally wherever you are, this isn't a problem. If you're casually strolling in the woods, abruptly stop all you like. You can abruptly stop all the live-long day.

But if you're in New York City, where the streets are full of people -- angry, hateful, violent people -- then you need to remember that to stop in the middle of the sidewalk is to invite your own death upon your skull. It's a good thing New Yorkers like myself are agile, or I would've walked into many a dumb mother fucker by now.

What you should learn from this: If you ever feel the need to abruptly stop, for whatever reason (that you can't do these while moving): make a phone call, pick a wedgie, light a cigarette -- move to either side of the sidewalk, out of the way, and stand still for as long as you want.

In other news: Jumped through the first hoop with my current business venture. Waiting to see if my landing was acceptable.

7 Ways to Save Your Own Life From Yourself

I've joined a site very recently that seems like it might work out in my favor. Too early to tell, but the point of this is that I read a post (they feature blogs, either linked or posted on the site itself) by a girl, Meaghan, who was pointing out how easy it is to Google someone and discover so much about them. She does have a fairly unique name, and so, as an experiment, I googled her and turned up quite a bit. I was able to view multiple profiles on various sites, pictures, her Twitter, etc.

In response to that, and to alleviate some of the tension I am feeling due to this test (read: impending doom) tomorrow, I decided to get some thoughts out of my head. Specifically, thoughts on how to not be revealed as a fool on the internet, and therefore, to everyone in the world that you don't know but might want to know/be hired by. Some of these will be speedballin'...

1. Remove any pictures of you that have any association with alcohol whatsoever. Doesn't matter how funny you think they are, potential employers won't see the humor.

2. Stop using Twitter. It's a pathetic waste of time.

3. If you have an iPhone, chuck it into the nearest river or storm drain. It.will.destroy.you.

4. Twitter or not, don't change your status on Facebook every 10 minutes. In fact, don't change it at all, and try socializing. FACT: Since status changes have begun, passive-aggressive behavior in teens has risen by %4,367,245.

5. If you are one of those people that sits with their laptop on while they watch TV, you are the reason the planet is dying. I have ADHD, and even I can choose one thing at a time. You're probably posting some dumb shit that will incriminate you on the internet anyway, so save yourself the trouble and focus on whatever you're watching.

6. Please. If someone friends you on Facebook because you met them once at a party, and you only just remembered their name because you see it next to their picture on the glowing screen before you, click "Reject." Friendships are becoming cheaper than the dollar, and this whole new term "ex-best friend" is BEYOND upsetting.

7. Set your facebook profile to the most private of settings on all fronts. Believe me when I say this will make life easier and smoother. I know too many people who have family members that were talked into joining facecrack, decided to search their nephew/daughter/grandson to "friend" them (just pathetic...), and then comes a phone call asking about what the Eiffel Tower has to do with Chad and Mark's dorm room. Guy or girl, that's embarassing.

I hope this can help some of you. I also hope this will find its way into this new website I've joined, so i can save my generation from looking worse than the people in the 80s. Bad hair and clothes aside, they had their privacy on lock. Pen and ink diaries are becoming dusty relics, and these blogs and vlogs are penetrating every orifice of the internet with stuff, lots and lots of stuff. We need less these days. Simply provide the beast with less, and it can infect you with less. Simple, non?

Note to anyone who has ever seen Spirited Away: Remember the giant evil black blob monster? Think of that thing as the internet. Every embarassing thing you do and toss casually into the abyss goes into his mouth, and he grows...and grows...and, well, you know...

Now choke that mother fucker and get your dignity back!

Well, I have studied for my Japanese test, but I'm still awake right now, and I have a killer stomach ache. But today was still really good.

I can't do much until I hear from Aclipse sometime this week. I'm beginning to get nervous, because if Aclipse doesn't work out, I am not sure what I'll do. I might just take off and see what happens. I really don't know.

While I ponder this, I can't help getting this quote out of my head. It's from some movie that I can't recall, but the quote is:

There are two kinds of travelers in this world: Those that travel to seek adventure, and those that travel to avoid adventure.

I fudged the quote up quite a bit, but the sentiment is clear. I worry that I might be one of those folks that doesn't actively seek adventure when they travel. If I do one thing this year, it will be to prove myself wrong about that.

Meanwhile, I can't stop thinking that I'm going to end up like Chris McCandless.

I just discovered a friend of mine has a blog. I would like to link our blogs, so that people who read our blogs can read them both...now how do I do that...Does this thing operate like Facebook?

My paycheck is so measly that trying to save money is very difficult. And yet, while I'm trying to save, I keep comforting myself with the fact that all I asked for for my birthday was money, and that since I'm no longer taking my road trip, I'm selling a 2000 Buick La Sabre with only 39k miles on it (ANYBODY?! THAT'S A GREAT F'ING CAR) immediately. I could probably get 3k from it, and I feel like on top of my birthday cash, I'd be pretty set. So this is my logic for being okay with not really saving that much money. Just so you know, "measly" in this case equals $60. A week. The normal week of 7 days, not some transdimensional 4-day week, either.

And if I keep writing this, I'm going to be late for Japanese class. Study sesh tonight with the squad, right after x-rays and form filing. I have so much FUN these days.

I applied to Aclipse a few days ago, and they liked my resume and want to talk with me about some more stuff. I know I haven't passed a difficult stage in getting this far, though, so I'm just waiting for things to get hard and I hope I don't fall short again.

Looking back on it, I think I performed poorly in my interview for the job. I forgot the particular job and culture I was trying to become a part of, and I think I was too excitable and enthusiastic, possibly too loud and may have, oddly, seemed too confident, which i heard was a bad thing. They don't want someone who thinks they've got things totally nailed. I don't think they knew that I become overly talkative and seem overly confident when I'm nervous. It certainly wouldn't have helped things if I had opened the interview with:

"Hey, so yea, I just want to let you guys know that I get suuuuper chatty when I'm nervous. Okay, let's get this bitch rollin'!"

Yup. Crappity-crap.

AAwwwwwwwwwww

I received an e-mail from JET last night.

I am an Alternate. That's not good, but not bad, either. It means that I have a potential waiting period of mid-April to mid-December to find out if I'm fully accepted or not. No, that's not a long time at all...

Amidst all this, I still have to complete two forms that both deal with the government, meaning it will take a fucking retarded long time for them to get things back to me. I don't know why JET needs an X-ray of my lungs (cancer, but really? They wanna know if I have cancer?), and I get the FBI background check, but do they really think that if I were some sort of serious criminal, I would be applying to teach in Japan through the Japanese government? Then again, they might have something on me that I don't even know about. Good thing I'm not a political activist.

I'm making good progress on my story, and an old flame is being rekindled nicely :-) Happiness is abundant, and it would be on for today IF it wasn't so fucking cold in mid-April. Old Man Weather needs to get his ass in gear and correct this promptly.

After reading somewhere that taking a 1-hour bath was equivalent to 4 hours of good sleep, I've decided to really get in touch with my feminine side and take a bath with some music and a book today. I figure if I'm in by 5, out by 6, with enough time to prepare before leaving at 7 for dinner and a show, I should feel like a million bucks, right? Let's hope so.

I'm failing Japanese, but it's not essential for me to graduate, so I'm okay with failing my first class in my (second attempt at a) college career. Besides, it's ridiculously difficult and moving way too quickly. I've got Hiragana down pretty well, but Katakana still escapes me. We're having a quiz on Kanji next week...yea, okay.

I got a good deal of quality writing done today. So to celebrate, I bought an album on iTunes for $5.99. I am creeping closer and closer to that the realm of insufficient funds, and I must watch my spending more closely.

In an effort to prevent my checking account from being raped (again), I am finally going to cash in my change jar. I think I'm going to do it at the Food Emporium in Union Square, which means I have to lug all that change around for approximately 2.5 hours before I can cash it in. Perhaps I should enlist a friend as a bodyguard. People won't be able to see that I'm walking with money, they'll be able to hear me.

I found out that I am an Alternate for JET this evening. Not fully accepted, but half-accepted. I'm basically on the waiting list.

Crap.

Food for thought

Sometimes I walk down the street and look at people, wondering:

Have they been in a porno before?

p.s. think of how many different varieties of porn there are.

Keep...forgetting to...post stuff

Here's an interesting story:

I was just browsing the internet, and decided to check up on tech news. You know, stay up to date on things. And I'm fucking shocked. By something else, not the news.

Within the past year, beginning almost precisely within the first week of January, I have become obsessed with the British show Top Gear. This show is hilarious, informative, and features beautiful, jaw-dropping vehicles. I don't want to bother explaining it, but part of it's attraction (for me at least) is the witty banter and chemistry the three hosts (Richard Hammon, Jeremy Clarkson, and James May, all of whose names I know by heart) have in nearly every episode.

So I had just watched the most recent episode for the third time last night, the extended one where they travel throughout Vietnam, and decided I would check up on the status of electric cars across the world. I googled some things, you know, that you google about electric vehicles, and I was lead to a Gizmodo link about a German car company THAT WAS WRITTEN BY AN OLD FRIEND OF MINE.

Holy crap! Elaine is the first person I know that is making it in the world of writing online. Kudos to you, Elaine! I immediately wrote her and exclaimed my amazement at her success. Surely I will try and catch some jetstreams on her coat tails, if you know what I mean.

And so, after reading her blurbs, and discovering an even more esteemed position that she's acquired, I have been inspired by Elaine to keep this ruddy thing up-to-date.

We'll see how that goes.