Time flies when you're...

Undoubtedly an array of events have transpired in the 25 days that have passed since my last post.  It is overwhelmingly surprising and rather dismalto think that almost two months have passed since my arrival to Japan.

So what kind of update can I bestow for everyone today?  My brain is pretty swamped right now, so I will rely on photographic memory to assist me.

Nov. 6 was a "snack party" that my friend Teresa and I organized on our hall.  Our purpose was to delve into to the weird world of Japanese snacks and sweets.  It was sort of a mini potluck where everyone brought thier own snack to share with everyone.

Our beverages: Grape Calpis (a milkly-like soda),  banana milk, miracle body, Azuki (sweet red bean) flavored Pepsi.

I haven't seen as much variety in KitKats since I first came to Japan.  Nevertheless, this one is sweet potato-flavored.  Other than that, we have apple-cider and plain KitKats.

I quite enjoyed this.  It is sweet with a hard but chewy texture, the consistency of firm dough.

Tiny fish packaged with almonds.  Not bad.  Probably MSG-laden.  The bag behind appears to say "BORINKI-" I have no idea what it means, but it is probably not a far cry from American snack food, unlike the fish and nuts.

Lauren and I met in Shinjuku for a fashion show put on by her friend's fashion college.  It was quite interesting; several groups each presented their own theme.  We ran up over 20 flights of stairs to see this packed event, because we were a little late.

 That is a giant needle and thread cascading over the roof.

I see this plant on my walk home from school.

This is a community festival held annually.  There was an array of second-hand items, so I found skirts, pants and more for about ¥300 each.  There was traditional dance in addition to Big Band. 

The fall festival prepared by the sweet staff at our dormitory.  They provided a lot of traditional fall meals, including udon (a stew with an assortment of tofu, eggs and veggies, mikan (Japanese tangerines), curry, apple salad, tea and cakes.  There was even tea ceremony and dressing in Kimono.

I've already had the chance to try this, so I let other people do it this time (actually, you had to sign up to try kimono on in advance, and I didn't know)

Most recent are pictures from a sukiyaki party the girls in my hall organized.  Sara who lives next to me purchased a sukiyaki pot, and the other girls got a small range so we could arrange this.  Yes, I/we have food fetishes, but it's incredibly hard not to.

"Suki" means like and "yaki" means grill/cook/broil.  Basically, cook what you like!  If you like raw eggs, put one in your bowl!  If you like noodles and beef and lots of vegetables, by all means...

 It's my pleasure to enjoy delicacies like this, but too much fun distracts me from important events in my life that sorely need tending to.  I'm not that irresponsible, but...

I think my plan was to keep a well documented blog of my daily events as well as maintain a separate diary and send out postcards.  I'm sorry on behalf of all of my shortcomings, but my rationale is...

It still feels like a dream.  A dream in the sense that you don't realize you're dreaming until you actually wake up.  A dream in the sense that once you wake up you think "Oh, it was just a dream" and go on living a normal life.  This was explained to me by my Australian friend who recently went home to take care of some academically related business.

 In dreams your subconcious mind takes over and rational thinking is impaired.   Perhaps biological clocks are set when you are born and stay that way for life.  I think I live out my daily life in a fog and then probably come to my senses at night.  So for the greater portion of the day, I am this bizarro Melody who can't get things straightened out and accomplished.
I guess I'll have to stabilize my routine before time flies away.

On the flip side, this weekend I have...
Friday-a Thanksgiving feast
Saturday- a home visit
Sunday-a bus tour of Chiba

...to look forward to.  So I need to prioritize my tasks and meet my goals so I can enjoy them without worrying about time!  But I didn't think I would need incentives to study Japanese..