This might not work, but I hope it does

Photo Dump Number 2

The update will be at a later date. But since my camera is almost full, I'm going to load pictures now. This will be huge, so I apologize in advance. These are photos of Hiratsuka, planting rice, a ramen shop close to the bus stop, an Okonomiyaki place, and other things. I may offer some commentary...but I denno yet.

A quick update

So, the beginning of the photo dumps have begun. Yesterday I had enough time to post a few before I had to catch the bus from campus to the guest house. And as such, I didn't really provide an even remotely detailed update of what I've been up to, which is what I had also wanted to do.

Sadly, I wasn't paying attention and have let my free time dwindle while I read Penny Arcade and other such pointless things, instead of updating like I wished to. Having just remembered that I should update, I find that I probably don't have enough time to do what I'd like.

ANYWAY. I'm rambling.

So...

How's it like here? What have I been doing? etc etc? I don't know where to begin. I'd rather just respond to questions posed by people I know than just sit here and type on and on with no real direction.

I guess, to start, you should know that, for the most part, Japan is just as beautiful as all the photos claim. They're not lying about that. Sure, cities are cities and as such, there are some unusually ugly buildings taking up space, but for the most part, it's amazingly beautiful.

On the bus from the airport, through the drizzle and the gloom, I couldn't help but feel the urban sprawl as less of a planned endeavor and more like a fluid organism filling up crevices and flowing down the hills: like some kind of glacier or river slowly changing its path and flow overtime.

The second image that came to mind was that of a toddler stacking his toys, somtimes precariously. At times, the buildings seem haphazardly placed. Clustered, cluttered, but not entirely chaotic. I feel exploring the close spaces created by such placement would be an unending adventure.

By the time we reached Hiratsuka, it was dark and I was starving and tired. Those were my first thoughts upon arriving here. Since then, tons of things have happened and I really don't know where to go from here with my virtual pen hesitant to continue.

I think I'll update again soon. Tomorrow we go into Tokyo again; this time for Yasukuni Shrine and other things. I'm determined to get a better video of Shibuya. And I'll upload to YouTube the other short videos I took. I have over 100 shots so far...so loading them is going to be a nightmare.

Anyway. I'm out for now.

Photo Dump and possibly an update, if time allows

These first ones were taken in the bus on the way to Hiratsuka. It was obviously a miserably rainy when we arrived.

Blurry! Score.

Shots of the room: Above and following

Below are shots of the shower facilities, followed by pictures of just a few of the things in the park on which the Guest House sits.

I apparently don't have enough time for that update, but enjoy the photos until I can.

Japanland and a revised resolution

So, a lot has happened lately: the semester ended and summer break began.

Also, and I didn't blog about this (or much of anything I realize), I got accepted into KU's summer study abroad program! That means that on the 2nd of June, I leave for Japan and I won't be back until the 9th of July.

5 weeks! I'm fairly excited.

Though, as anyone who has been reading this (ha! that's a funny thought) would know, I was hoping to be roughly 30-some-pounds lighter by now. But thanks to things previously recorded, I'm not. What is my weight? Not telling. It's not above what is used to be, but it's not far enough below it for me to be even remotely happy. SIGH. Well, if I don't look super awesome for my first trip there, at least I'll be smokin' by the time I do the JET later on.

So...I'm hoping that my trip will be beneficial to my weightloss. I think it will be...and I'll use that momentum to propel me when I get back (after I recuperate). My new goal is to lose the weight by mid September or early October. And I'm not going to let anything stop me this time. I'm getting too irritated by how things are at the moment.

Anyway. Change of topic.

While I'm in Japan, I think I'll update this and it'll be a nice place to store some pictures. It will be easier to make one massive post periodically than to send dozens of emails every few days. Of course, I'll be sending a few emails anyway, even if I do post here, but I think it'd be easier to do this than the other. Also, I have a terrible memory, and once you pair that with occasional sloth, you get a girl who wouldn't remember to whom or when she'd sent emails. And, I hate repeating myself.

So, it's settled. Washoku Lean is shortly going to be more about Japan than weight. Yipee!

Hmn...I know I'm typing a bit scatterbrained today, and I'm not sure why, but roll with it.

I think my tone above doesn't adequately express my excitement. I am super excited about this trip, though I must say that I'm probably not showing it as much as I could. I tend not to get super excited outwardly, unless whatever I'm excited about is already happening and there's nothing that can stop it from happening. I'll get excited then. But I won't show it before that point. I know this comes from things falling through and I know this can't realistically fall through, but I'm ever hesitant to get my hopes up. I've been wanting to go to Japan forEVER (the reasons why are another story entirely), so this is a huge event for me.

Of course, it was an event that I wanted to be hot for, but alas. I'll have my day!

And now I think I've run out of stuff to talk about for the time being. So...yeah.

I'm out.

Pancake Tease

Remember my promise of pancake pictures? Well, apparently I'm a wanton liar.

In all reality, I just haven't made them since my boyfriend left. (side-note: he came to visit me a week or so ago, stayed for a week, then flew back to Californicationland). I made them for us while he was here, but forgot to take pictures. But, take my word for it: they're delicious.

Current weight? Ha ha no. Not even gonna talk about that. But I did go the gym today and, if the LifeFitness elliptical is to be trusted, I burned 420 calories in 45 minutes. Usually I burn around 460 in 45, according to the other elliptical I use more often. This one, though, had the arm-mover things, so I used them a lot more and it was unexpectedly tiring. In a good way, though.

A minor Rant:
While on the subject of exercise equipment, I have to say that I'm apparently incapable of effectively using the heart rate sensors on elliptical machines. No matter how I hold on to them, they always fail to register a possible heart rate. Most times, it reads that my heart rate is somewhere between 62 and 89. I'm entirely serious here. It's utterly ridiculous. I KNOW my heart rate is more elevated than that. And yet only once in awhile will it get it right.

And now for a more involved Rant:
Wrigley's has a relatively new commercial out. You might have seen it. The commercial basically claims that gum is a snack. I'm sorry, but it's not. And that commercial just makes me want to punch someone in the face-- namely the people who thought it was a good idea.
I realize that gum can help curb appetite...but it's not a snack. A snack is like fruit or a snack bag of popcorn. Not gum. Not ever gum.

Hmn...my original anger about that has apparently subsided because I was sure I could squeeze out enough hate to fill a page. Then again, it has been at least four hours since I saw that commercial last. BLEH. I HATE THAT COMMERCIAL.
There. That was a little more satisfying. And I even got the accompanying visual of my own head exploding.

Ah, balance in the universe is restored.

Stumbling Block

Actually, it's less of a stumble and more of a catastrophic failure. In my mind I kind of have this mental image of what a stumbling block of this proportion might be. And it starts out innocent enough. He trips over an uneven crack on the concrete and stumbles. But, alas! it's a very inconvenient stumble, for there is a set of stairs no more than three feet away! And, as these things go (often from bad to worse), this particular set of stairs is particularly long-- and steep.

You get the idea. Though it's amusing to imagine this occurring to a figmentary member of your imaginationland, it's not so cool when it's applied to you or my weight, as this example is meant to illustrate.

What happened? you might inquire. Well, rest assured, I will divulge the necessary information.

If you've been keeping up with life in the US, you'll know that this year was like crazy flu season. And just about a week after my last post, I did not get the flu. I got something else that was almost as bad. To date, I've never gotten "the flu". But when everyone else is being inflicted with the death bug, I tend to get a sinus infection from hell. And that's sorta what happened this time around.

I honestly don't remember my exact symptoms. Though I know it required a Vick's vaporizer and a lot of NyQuil-- the nasty green kind on accident. Worst thing on the planet. Anyway.
I was more or less incapacitated for a week. After the first few days, though, I didn't actually feel bad anymore. But I had this terrible cough that WOULD NOT go away for like two weeks after I was sick.

And somewhere in the middle of my illness, I turned 21. w00t for me...though almost everyone at my party was in some stage of sickness-recovery. So it was kind of sucky.

Bleh. Now, I told you all of that so I could tell you this: Thanks to visit to boyfriend AND being sick for like three weeks, I gained even more weight. For first two weeks I couldn't do much of anything and was relatively incapacitated by illness but the last week or so I felt fine! But could I go to the gym and work off all the cough syrup and vitamin-packed liquids (that also happen to be calorie-packed)? NO! Because if I exerted myself beyond a moderate walk, I would induce a seemingly endless coughing fit that would leave me exhausted when it finally subsided about five minutes later. AND THEN add on all the work I had to make up for missing off and on during that and you have a really unhappy camper. I.e. Me.

So even though I felt fine and could eat fine (and taste again!), I couldn't exercise, which means that I gained weight! Yippee for me. >.<
And all of this just has me a little bit peeved. I finally want to look really good. I've never exactly looked bad but I've never felt super confident about how I look. I haven't really had a lot of reason to. I want to finally be slender. And maybe if I can make it there myself, my boyfriend might be inspired.

(warning, misty-eyed monologue ahead)
I've never really been the kind to want to wear short-shorts-- mainly because the people I knew that wore them a lot were skank-face bitches, but it would be nice to be able to wear them and not look gross (to me). And though I've never really had a desire to wear a bikini, it would be so cool if I could have the option (if I wanted to). I want to be able to look in the mirror and know that I could wear just about anything and it look good on me. It's not a vanity thing at all. I'm not in the least bit vain. It's just the sense of accomplishment and achievement-- that's what I want.

And a few months ago, I had made significant progress. I had lost just over 15 pounds. But I regained 10. It's just a little bit disheartening. Considering that as it stands today, I have at least 34-39 pounds to go-- for my initial goal of 140-145. Before New Years, I only had like 29, or less to make, 140.

I'm not exactly visibly upset. It's more all in my mind-- which is how it usually goes with me. And that is where I will defeat this slight despair. Besides, I gotta jump back on and keep going, eh?

I'll update again soon. I don't want this post to be super duper long, like it will be if I continue on with what I want to talk about. But next time: orange and pecan pancakes! (with pictures! syrup optional!)