Update?

Current Weight: 177-179ish....still

I'm honestly a bit surprised that I'm still in this weight bracket...mainly 'cause my birthday weekend was last weekend and I totally splurged food-wise. I did pop back up to around 181 the other day for it, but I've since dropped back down.

It's been kind of hard to get to the gym this semester. I have afternoon classes that end around 4 and by the time I get home, I'm so tired. I'll perk back up around 6, but from 4 until then, I feel so very very bushed. It sucks. I've tried snacking in the afternoon; maybe it's a blood-sugar related? I'm not sure if that's helped or not. Also, since I don't have a Yellow parking pass, I can't park on campus until after 5. I don't want to take the bus to the gym, get all sweaty, then have to ride next to someone on the way back to my place/car. It's not that I get stinky after the gym (I honestly don't), but I know I wouldn't really want to sit next to someone who looks sweaty-- even if it's just localized to the face region/hairline. It's pretty cold here at the moment, so I put on a jacket when I leave...so it's not like they'd see the sweat anywhere else. On some of the week days, I don't have class until after 2, which would be perfect times to go to the gym, get back to my place, shower, then go to class...if it weren't for the can't-park-on-campus bit.

So, either I pay to park at a meter (lame), I ride the bus there (also lame), or I wait until after 5 to park there for free...by which point I'm too tired to want to do it. Sometimes I go later in the evening which is nice, but then I've found that it's hard to get to sleep afterwards and I end up staying up until well after 11pm before I'll start to feel tired. Seriously? Sucks, man, it sucks.

I have a nice walk that I take around the massive block I live on, (it's like 4 miles all the way around), but it's been pretty chilly or downright cold lately--go figure, it's winter-- and that's been more than a small bit of a deterrent. I can tolerate walking in low-40s, but anything below 37 or so and I get uncomfortable. Walking in the cold like that eventually starts making my legs get numb then that weird muscle itch thing starts. I know I'm not the only person to feel this way, but it's still annoying and probably makes me look like a total spaz when I have to stop to rub my thighs while walking in the cold. I wouldn't mind doing it so much if my walk path thing wasn't right off super major streets in town. The whole way around, it's right off of four main thorough-fairs that have pretty constant streams of traffic.

One of my friends in my Japanese classes would like to start going to swim again this semester. I would love to go, but I don't know the hours yet, and I'd rather not have to lug all my make-the-water-go-away tools to the gym so my hair won't freeze when I leave if it's super cold. Thankfully, the temperatures are getting more tolerable. So maybe after Spring Break, we'll be able to start going again. For now, I think I'll stick to the gym and the elliptical. ^^

It's a slow process at the moment, but I'm getting there!

よし！

ps to non-Japanese speakers, the above little curvy symbols read "Yosh!" and pretty much means "Alright!" or an enthusiastic "Let's do it!" type of thing. I say it sometimes; can't help it.

Current Weight: 177-179

I've made some head-way. I will post again soon, but I'm kind of distracted at the moment.

Current Weight: 181-182ish

I've been a little slow on the weight thing recently. Been stressed out because of class, among other things.

Still trekking along though. And I rediscovered my love of swimming. I don't look so flabby and yuck that I'm too uncomfortable in a one-piece. It's magical how clothing changes how I feel...and my swimsuit is one of those things. Except for the "size", but that again delves into my hatred of how women's anythings are sized. This suit is an example. You know what size it is? 18!

Wow, I feel gross just thinking about that. But, you see, I'm not an 18 and never have been. And, in reality, it's a little big on me, but the 16 was too tight. It's all about the mind tricks I mentioned last time.

In reality, I should be a size 12 suit, maybe, if the sizes were standard. But they're not. So, screw you, Speedo, for making me feel bad about myself when I bought your suit at Dick's.

...

Hilarity.

Current Weight: 184ish

I've been not here, obviously. I would go into it in more detail, but it's actually pretty boring stuff, I'd say. And really, most blogs are about boring stuff, but that's for another day.

When I was in Japan last year, my lack of a reliable (free) internet connect really stymied my ability to record what was going on. And then, Blogger's picture organizing for a post was just really lackluster and generally poor, which made me less likely to try to use it. I do apologize.
To who, I am unsure, as I'm fairly certain that no one reads this.

I have no problem with this fact. ^^

With the new school year starting today, I'm hoping to put this blog and its original purpose back to use, unless some unforeseen things keep me from it.

About the weight-issue thing: Hmn...how do I feel about gaining most of it back? I'm obviously unhappy about it, but there were things at play that I had little control over, which I've reconciled. The only plus side is that I know how long it took me to lose what I lost before, so I'm not too bummed. At least, not in a super tangible way, anyway. Sure, I'd love to look good in a swim suit sometime, and I'll get there. But there's no point dwelling on what isn't yet. All that that does is depress, and being down about it won't help at all.

I just got back from a trip to Florida. It was a nice trip. I got to hang out with some friends of mine and made some new ones. I also ate a ton of seafood, but didn't gain any weight, really. I think at most I gained a pound. And, somehow, after all that, I'm now able to fit into a size smaller than I used to. At least, some of them. I hate women's sizes in America. Size 10? What is that? I used to be a size 10. I'm just now able to fit into a size 12 again. But there are some of my size "12"s that feel more like a 10 at other places. It's obvious the dimensions for these sizes aren't set in stone. And this nearly fluid ability to adjust sizes is just messed up. It's a mind trick-- and a mean one at that.

You can say all you want that the cut and fabric factor in, but in reality, the sizes are different depending on what store you're in. I hate this so much it makes my head hurt if I bother to consider it for more than a few moments. Am I joking? I'm not entirely sure at this point.

All I know is that I can fit into at least a few of my size 12 pants now, and that has me esctatic. Especially since they're the really good looking ones. Also, winter is coming soon, and most of my nice winter pants are size 12ish, so it's good that I'll look good in them. At the very least, I won't be uncomfortable in them.

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.