Tokyo or Bust (But Please, Universe, Not really)

Yes, yet again it would appear I have abandoned this blog for months.  But, honestly, when all I really did for the past few months was school, work, and the occasional social-like thing it didn't really seem all that appropriate or interesting to blog about it. Occasionally I'd come up with something to blog about, but then we run into the "I forgot/I was lazy/I was busy" territory of excuses.  So part of me wonders if I should just copy/paste the opening paragraph of my blog every time this happens, but then I wonder if every blog entry would start this way.

However! I am about to do something much more interesting than school, work, eat, homework, sleep, lather, rinse, repeat, etc.  Well, at least I think it's more interesting.  If all plans go, well, according to plan Wednesday morning I'll be boarding a plane and won't be returning for another two months.  And when I say "according to plan" I mean barring computer glitches and national disasters because apparently those things happen a little bit more frequently than I'd like.  So, you know, knock on wood and cross your fingers for me because I'm going to Japan.

I've been telling people the whole thing seems so surreal partially because I feel like I don't usually do things like this, and partially because I've been planning it for so long.  Ignoring the fact that I've been studying the language since my freshman year of high school (so 6 years) and the fact that I've regretted not applying to go on a high school exchange program that went to Japan the summer after my freshman year, I've still been planning this exact trip for about two years.  My entire freshman year of college I researched programs, attempted to figure out dates, went to study abroad fairs, visited the study abroad office and whatnot, and then spent much of this year applying and getting ready for it.  So the fact that I will be in Japan in 3 days is just... wow.

So for the next two months I plan on recounting my countless adventures on this blog.  After all, this place needs some love and the owl gets lonely. I've also got a tumblr I'm planning on posting pictures to.  The idea is I'd at least like to post a picture every day and a blog every now and then (once a week perhaps?).  Maybe I'll get really ambitious and post some video blogs! I'm not entirely sure how much internet or computer time (especially with the energy concerns that are going on over there) but I'm hoping to use the time I do have to post on these things. Beyond the fact that I've had a lot of people say they want to hear about what I'm doing, I'd like a record of what I'm about to do.  Mostly because I feel like when it's done with I won't believe it's actually happened.

Forks on the Road

If you've been paying attention at all to pop culture in the past five years, you've probably heard about that little Twilight series. Yes, that one. The one with the vampires and the girl who doesn't realize she's in an abusive/controlling relationship.

Anyway, the reason I initially read those books was because someone told me they were set in Washington. Not only Washington, but small town Washington. Things are hardly ever set in Seattle, let alone in an average Washington town! I love Washington, so I jumped at the chance to read something that takes place there. Of course, I was disappointed due to the fact that the reason it's set in Forks, WA is because it gets the least amount of sun out of anywhere in the US (or so the book says) and that Stephenie Meyer hadn't ever been to Forks (or Washington really) before writing the books.

Despite the long list of disappointments that stem from those books, I have decided not to take them too seriously (beyond being slightly afraid of the influence they have on young girls) and be generally amused by them. Which is why when Chelsea and I decided we wanted to take an end of the summer road trip to the Olympic Peninsula, we HAD to go to Forks. Beyond the fact it's an excellent source of amusement, it's also a really pretty area and near some good campsites.

Chelsea got to my house Tuesday afternoon. After she got there we spent most of the afternoon/night playing Fable 2 and Assassin's Creed (I played Fable, she played Assassin's Creed), getting lost in my hometown while I was driving, getting groceries and packing for the trip, and whatnot. Oh, and Chelsea broke the internet. Well, it was more that her computer decided that it wanted to take over the internet at my house and not let anyone use it. I blame Windows Vista which should have never ever ever been produced.

The next morning we got up early, packed up Chelsea's car with the random assortment of camping supplies my dad collected for us, and headed off. It took us about five hours to get to Forks, mostly because both of us kept getting lost and missing turns. Still, we did eventually get there, and oh was it worth it.

Or not.

Forks is a really small town. There's really only one street going through the town that takes a little over two minutes to drive through (and that's including the time spent stopped at the one light). There probably wouldn't be anything to do at all in the town, except for all the random Twilight stuff. There were two Dazzled by Twilight stores in Forks (there's at least one more in Port Angeles), a Native to Twilight store, Twilight rooms at the motels, some store Alice "likes", a Dr. Cullen parking spot at the hospital, Bella's house, two trucks that resemble Bella's, and some sort of reference in every single business in that town. There were signs advertising stores that Bella would frequent (like the Pharmacy, haha) and signs advertising a THREE HOUR Twilight tour. I'd really like to know what they do for three hours. I suppose they visit all of those things I just mentioned, and maybe a tour of the house (which, by the way, we did not go see).

We did go into one of the Dazzled by Twilight stores. Mostly, I was amused by most of the merchandise. I was tempted to buy the shirtless Jacob action figure, because I have a weakness for action figures (and you thought I was going to say I had a weakness to hot, shirtless guys). Except when I saw that the price was around $35 (it might have been $25, I can't quite remember) I opted not to buy the overpriced nonsense. I did buy a few postcards, because I love postcards and funny things. There was one extremely creepy sticker that read, "Edward can bust my headboard, bite my pillows, and bruise my body anyday!" This sticker pretty much sums up the two main things I don't like about the series. One, the writing is horrible ("anyday" is not a word, just in case you were wondering). Two, the "bruise my body" bit is frightening no matter how you spin it. I mean honestly, doesn't anyone proofread?

That night, we camped at a campsite near Rialto Beach and we managed to set up the tent AND cook our food despite our lack of height and camping expertise. I'm actually really proud of us both with how well the whole camping thing went. The next morning we packed everything back into the car, and stopped at Rialto Beach before heading back home. The beach itself was really pretty and the waves were gorgeous. After watching the waves for a bit, I attempted to skip rocks and to teach Chelsea how to skip them. Except those aforementioned waves kept causing problems.

On the way back we stopped for amazing Thai food in Port Angeles, and we also drove through Chelsea's home town so that I could see it. I enjoyed seeing some of the places she'd talked about and the school she went to.

All in all, it was a good trip. If you'd like to see a little bit more of a dynamic (and shorter) record of the trip, check out my video about it at this link here. Subscribe to my youtube channel if you'd like to see more vlogs from me in the future. I might not update my blog every time I post a video, so subscribing to the channel would be a good way to keep up with the vlogs.

Trying To Figure Itself Out

I find I get the best bouts of inspiration at ungodly hours. Namely, those hours being after the time one should be in bed if that person wants to wake up before noon the next day. If I decide to wait until the morning to climb out of my bed and turn on my laptop in order to take advantage of the inspiration, it's gone by the time I wake up. If I decide to stay up and take advantage of the inspiration, I feel awful and will refuse to do anything the next day. My muse is evil. Or amused with him/her/itself. Or both. Yes, probably both.

Last night was one of those nights after I watched The Young Victoria with Emily Blunt playing Queen Victoria. A friend recommended the movie to me, and after I watched the trailer I knew I had to see it. Plus, I have LOVED Emily Blunt sine I watched her in The Devil Wears Prada. Thankfully, it's on netflix play instantly at the moment (I freaking LOVE that part of the service) so I watched it. I really enjoyed the movie and, according to Wikipedia, it seems somewhat historically accurate (although a few things are changed for the purposes of drama as all movies based on historical events are). Although, it's odd because Prince Albert is played by the same actor who plays Mr. Wickham in the recent Keira Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice. Except, the guy is absolutely adorable and awesome from the moment he appeared on screen, and I instantly wanted to marry him. If you're into movies like Pride and Prejudice, or any sort of period drama with a bit of romance, you should check this one out. I'm tempted to watch it again right now actually. Again, I know I love a book/movie/story when I want to start writing after I watch it, so this one is going into the favorites.

Speaking of writing, the rewrite is going surprisingly well. I thought I would hate rewriting it, but I'm loving how the story is changing and morphing into something better as I go along. This attitude will probably change once I hit those lovely moments of getting stuck, but for right now I'm having fun with it and not minding the whole rewriting thing. I'm not sure what will happen with the rewrite when November comes and I attempt to write its sequel (which has been in my head since shortly after I wrote the first one for Nanowrimo in 2007), but it'll probably just go on hold until December.

In other news, I have finally started using the crafting blog I set up ages ago. If you ever looked at my profile and saw a blog called "Stardust Stuff" sitting there doing nothing, this is what it's meant for. You can find it at http://starduststuff.blogspot.com/ where I've currently got an introductory post set up. Check it out if you're interesting in my crafting adventures.

I'm not sure when the next time I blog will be as I'm going camping with the lovely Chelsea this week, but when I return there will be tales of epic road trip adventures! Or complaints about how it always rains when you go camping in the Pacific Northwest. Or both. Yes, probably both.