All Joking Aside :)

Happy first of April everyone! March, also known as the craziest, most random month of my life here in Japan, is finally over. What started out as an amazing month with tons to look forward to quickly turned into frantic phone calls and emails topped off with earthquake early warning alarms (which really only give you a few seconds to sit there and think about what you could be doing if you had more time to prepare for an earthquake). I've been so lucky that I haven't been in the shower or something during a big earthquake...I'd be more terrified to run outside in my towel than the actual quake.

So with this new month comes new adventures ahead. Unfortunately, because of this silly earthquake, a lot of plans have changed. I've made some new plans and secured some old ones as well. With only a little more than three months left, I'm booking up my schedule nice and tight so there is no wasted time. So, since nothing new has come to light since March 11th, I'm going to map out my plans ahead. It's an idea I got from my friend, Kendal, who made a list of everything she wanted to do once we regained power, fuel, etc, essentially giving her something to look forward to. An excellent idea, don't you think?

Without further ado, here it is:

The weekend of April 16th: Although this doesn't sound like much fun, I'll be locking myself in the apartment for the entire weekend to turn back the clocks and have a long, uninterrupted, no countdown necessary skype session with my one and only. That's right, Mr. OC himself will be branching on the 15th and will HOPEfully be getting a weekend pass. So this plan is tentative, but I'm sincerely hoping for the best. I'm looking forward to not worrying about "lights out" or him having to go to a squad meeting or something. A blissful two days of nothing but us. Tanoshimi!

Golden Week: Essentially a spring break for the entire country of Japan, this week is made up of four national holidays falling around the the first week of May, which usually leads to a mass travel throughout the country. This coincides with cherry blossom season, which is what my vacation will revolve around. I plan on doing some sakura viewing with my nihonjin pals for part of the break, and (if the shink is back up and running) visiting my wonderful friend Kate in Chiba for a reunion after this whole mess, granted she comes back by then. F$!# cancer, by the way.

Georgia Trip: A twelve day vacation mid-May to see my honey graduate from OCS! A trip that has yet to be fully confirmed, what with all the unknowns and still seven more weeks to go, but a trip to look forward to nonetheless. I'm anticipating that more time will be spent putzing around Columbus than actually with him, but the little time spent is always more than worth it (I still have absolutely no regrets about that whirlwind trip to Missouri...it was worth every second of traveling spent).

GTSEP: The official last CIR duty that I will have is the student exchange program from Gilroy coming out to Takko. I love that this is how I started my year and how I will end it. This year's group is incredible and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm sure as time gets closer I'll become a basket case and complain about how much stuff I have to do (packing, getting affairs in order, GTSEP planning, etc), but it's really the perfect way to end it all.

That's all that I have planned so far. There are talks of rescheduling Julia's trip for the summer (along with Nana... joshikai!), but it's left to be confirmed. Sounds like a fun three months ahead, right? I think so too. But after this earthquake, my friends and I up here have talked a lot about how quickly life can change in a matter of moments. Ululani brought up a Proverb that really hits home and I thought I'd share:

"Boast not yourself of to morrow; for you know not what a day may bring forth." Proverbs 27:1

Right?? So with that in mind, I begin this new month with positive energy, but living in each and every day for what it is.

Coming up... Another quiet weekend ahead, but with an added shopping trip with my nijonjin girl friends. Looking forward to lots of laughing, unnecessary shopping and purikura!

In other news... So nothing of any major significance has happened lately, but life has been going on as normal. I started writing an entry about the recent ceremonies that have been going on (the school and fiscal year have just ended and restarted) but never published it before the earthquake. That's coming soon!

Letter Update: Well, OCS has been much kinder to us than expected, so daily letters are no longer necessary (for the time being). His first week at OCS (when we couldn't talk) was the week leading up to Julia's trip and I was busy busy busy. Since then, it's been (kind of) smooth sailing! Send my OC positive thoughts as he continues the journey.