JETting off to Motherland

For those of you who were beginning to think that either me or this blog was dead: far from it, my friends. From today we have T-minus 10 days until departure. Pack your bags in the overhead compartments and fasten those seat belts, all trays locked in the upright position. I'm heading back to Japan.

If you're reading this, GTFO. No no, that was mean. For those who are returning, thanks for sticking with this blog through the dry times. And for newcomers, welcome! - this blog is always at the forefront of excitement. :] I'm going to assume that most people who made their way here know that I got into the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program and will be taking my fiance to go and live in Japan for (disclaimer: at least) one year. WAHOOOO!! In light of that, consider this a new Welcome post of sorts for my blog, which I will be overhauling in the coming days to reflect its transition into the infamous trend of Travel Blog.

Am I crazy? I'm still posting motherloving flippin' events from the last time I went to Japan, almost TWO YEARS AGO. OMFG. I've had more than one person come up to me and tell me they're not going to read any more of this crap and I have to get on with my life and actually update. I considered it, and that'd be nice to discuss topics that are currently on my mind. But why be modern when you can be stuck in a wonderfully static past? Those four months from Sept. to Dec. of '08 are still some of the happiest of my life, and even if you guys don't like it I'd still rather have them somewhere I can come back to in the years to come.

THIS TIME will be different. That's what everyone says, and maybe it won't. But here's the plan: 1. one blog, 2. scheduling, 3. time-boxing. Okay, I'll still have my Japanese blog, and perhaps I'll copy this to another site, but I'm going to skip over the paper journal this time. When I was there last time, I would record some stuff on paper first, and then type it up and edit it. This cuts out the middle man, and if I do have a journal I can save it for things I can't do online, like making a scrap book or something girly like that. Scheduling is something that I've always used but strangely always underestimated. But now that I'm in the working world of sorts, I find that I need to make myself a schedule if I expect anything at home or work to get done. The last couple weeks have been unscheduled and just downright messy. Bleh. Lastly, time-boxing is like scheduling, but I'll be giving myself a set time to get as much done as possible, then I'm going to post. This works great with lots of stuff, I suggest you try it.

Here is the plan before I leave, in no particular order:

• Last-minute hang outs
• Finish writing any Japan blogs left
• Pack and buy stuff I still need
• Read more about JET (did I lose the information book? uh oh...)
• Follow the list I made in this post

And if I have time I'll try to cover a couple topics on my trip. Any questions?