But here I am. Sitting in my room in Albany–well, what used to be Alex’s room, and is now her old room with most of her stuff still here but with all of my things in boxes stuffed into the closet. Plus my desk and dresser. But that’s not what I came to write about.

Actually, to be blunt, I don’t know what I came to write about. I obviously am not motivated enough to post here on a regular basis, but I guess you could say I must have either felt inspired to write or to ramble in order to come back here. Either way, I don’t see why I shouldn’t, so here goes.

(Eh, I cut out what I had written here. Was unnecessary.)

That aside, life’s been good for the most part. Different, but good. Ups and downs as always. But I try and focus on the ups. That’s something I’ve been working on doing for a few years now, because it’s not worth it to waste my time being unhappy. Granted, yes, sometimes it’s unavoidable. But I do my best to avoid it.

I’m taking a drawing class in Albany right now, so I’m sort of stuck in my apartment 5 days a week. But! I’m making the best of it. And by “making the best of it” I mean cooking for myself and spending my free time playing Final Fantasy IX and watching movies that my boss suggested I see.  Surprisingly, this has yet to bore me too much. I’m sure sometime next week I’ll be itching for friends and money and the ability to go out and have fun, but for now I’m broke and can’t really. But I’ll be home this weekend, which means LOTS of work, but also friends and fun. And my brother’s HS graduation~!

Hm what else. Dannie came to see me yesterday. Dannie, a girl I’ve been friends with since we were like 8. I love Dannie. Dannie put the word in for me to get my job at the theatre. Dannie and I worked together until she left for college. And now she’s home for the summer again! Whoo!

Wish I could figure out a good way of ending these entries. I bought Pulp Fiction the other day, fuck yeah. And uh, it looks like I’ll be staying up an hour later than I expected to, seeing as how the new Futurama is on and I missed it at 10 when it premiered. Though I suppose if it sucks, I’ll go to bed. Good night!

/awkward

I’ve been sick this week. I don’t know what happened but I threw up on and off for 10 hours on Monday. I’m feeling mostly better now, but I’m still tired and sore and can’t decide when I’m hungry or when my stomach just hurts. I’ve lost 7-8 pounds because of all this–definitely not worth what I’ve been through.

I know I haven’t posted in a while. That doesn’t surprise me. I apologize to anyone that may be checking this occasionally, though I doubt anyone would after two more months of no updates. I just figured I’d write something.

I’m reading a book for a class called Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book. The reviews on Amazon are split between revering it and calling it trash. Parts of it are okay. A lot of it doesn’t make sense, at least not to me. There are too many references to too many things that I have no knowledge of, and when the story fades in between reality and other universes I can’t tell which is which.

The weather outside is beautiful. I wish I could spend more time out there doing nothing. I bought a dress and shorts today in preparation for spring and summer. I’m hoping it will be this nice again in a week and a half when my spring break starts. I want to dress up while I’m in the city with Brent.

There isn’t much else to update on. Work is good. Brent is good. The apartment is good. School is okay, except I’ve missed much of it this week. I have a lot to do next week but at least spring break is soon. I’m still taking photos every day, I just haven’t been posting them… I should really get on that soon.

I’m always terrible at ending journal entries. Especially when they’re all over the place like this one. Again, I don’t know when I’ll be posting after this. If you want to talk, e-mail me: kira.goldfarb@gmail.com. I’ll be around.

School is just starting again for me today. So far so good–Archaeology was my first class and my next one isn’t until 2:45. I’ve moved into the apartment with Alex (my best friend) and Etta (our other housemate). My room is HUGE–I’ll try and post photos soon, especially when I finally get up to date on my flickr project… I’m waaaaay behind. :/

Brent and I just celebrated our half-year anniversary on the 12th. Pretty sweet. He visited this past weekend; I’ll see him again next weekend. The whole seeing-each-other-every-two-weeks thing can be tough but I think it works well for us and makes our time together more valuable. It’s going to be tough to balance school, living in Albany on weekdays, work and seeing him every couple weeks, but I think I’ll manage. I haven’t started searching for a second part-time job yet, but I may soon. It’s hard to motivate myself when I have a loan refund that will cover my rent until the summer, haha.

Man, I thought I had more to talk about here but now I can’t think of anything. I really need to get up to date on my flickr postings, though. I feel bad.. Brent paid for me to get a pro account, and now I haven’t been using it. I think I’ll go and try to post some more, at least to get a little caught up. I’ll try and post here again soon, but if I forget, I believe my contact info is somewhere around here if anyone would like to reach me… kira.goldfarb@gmail.com

“It’s raining…”

So I haven’t blogged in quite a while, at least in comparison to the once-a-week-ish that I was when I first started this fall. But I’ve got some down-time right now, and some procrastinating to get to work on, so I thought that now may be an opportune time to put off my other work in favor of writing about what’s been going on and will soon be going on.

The majority of my time these past few weeks has been devoted to work and school. In between all of that? Loads of procrastination, and usually as much talking to Brent as I can fit into each day. Then there’s the occasionally hangout time with friends, but seeing as how most of my good friends are busy with work or school, it’s been hard to occupy myself at times. Things have generally been good, though. I’m still staying positive; still waiting anxiously for each awesome visit with Brent. And of course, Halloween is coming up…

I wish I could afford to put together a really awesome costume. I barely got to celebrate last year, and it’s my favorite holiday, so I’m obviously anxious to take advantage of being back in the states for it this year. But, alas, I am also attempting to save up for rent for when I move in with my friend Alex in January, not to mention I’ve been paying for my own gas for the first time ever and the majority of my paychecks seem to be going towards my credit card bill. I’ll proudly say, though, that I have yet to let my bill go beyond being payable before the end of each cycle–I’ve been lucky and smart enough to not be subject to interest just yet. ;D

So anyway, back to Halloween. Since I can’t afford to do all the things I’d like to, I’m planning on sticking to the basics. I’ll dress as Pikachu, same as last year, with the suit I bought at ドン・キホーテ in Akihabara last year. Having bright yellow mittens and slippers would be a plus, but unfortunately they aren’t exactly the easiest things to find at a normal clothing store. Brent and I had originally planned for him to dress as Ash, and then Brock… But now, I’m really not keeping my hopes up for our costumes to go together. Neither of us has had the time or money to find anything that would work for those costumes for him, so I think we’re just going to wing it and maybe use some of my old costume stuff so he can dress as V–or, god forbid, a total newfag.

Anyway. So, Brent’s coming up this weekend for Halloween. I’m dragging him trick-or-treating and then we’ll probably be heading up to Albany to hang out with Alex at her apartment. I’ll be working most of the weekend, boo. But we’re decorating the theatre tomorrow for Halloween, and I’m totally planning on going to work on Friday night (and Saturday matinee if we have one) dressed in my popcorn suit (btw, that photo is obviously not of me).

Hmm. That’s most of what’s on my mind right now. I’ve just been preoccupied with midterms and trying to get everything else I need to get done, done. I have an appointment to get my TB test done on Monday, since it’s required by the school.. I’m meeting with my advisor soon so I can get my enrollment number and register for classes for the spring.. Etc, etc. Things have just been a little hectic, but not entirely in a bad way–though definitely I can’t wait for this weekend and hopefully having time to just hang out and have fun with my boyfriend and best friend.

So that’s about it for now, I guess. I’ve got most of my photo-a-day picture on flickr up to date; I’ll put this week’s up soon. Oh, that reminds me.. Brent also got me an early birthday present: a flickr pro account. Once I activate it I’ll be able to store as many photos as I want, whereas with a free account you can only see the 200 most recent photos (which would do me no good in a year-long photo-a-day project). So, yay! Brent’s so sweet.

Alright, I think that’s all I can (or should) ramble about for now. I’ll try and get back to posting on a regular basis again; till then, さようなら!

The past week or so has been going fine. I’ve still got important phone calls to make; New Paltz sent me a letter saying I’ve got to start paying back my Stafford Loan, so I need to contact them (or the loan people) and tell them that I can’t because my withdrawal from NP was because I was transferring, not because I was quitting school altogether. I also am about to have a hold placed on my account here at Albany because I haven’t had a tuberculosis evaluation recently–but I don’t want to pay for the shot, so I’m going to try and see if I can get a waiver for that entire thing… We’ll see.

The weekend was for the most part nice, almost entirely due to the fact that Brent was visiting. I picked him up after work on Friday and he left on Monday evening. We didn’t get to do too much since I had work most of the weekend, but we did go to the Germantown Harvest Festival on Saturday night, at my friend Alex’s suggestion and invite. That was unexpectedly backwoodsy but also very fun–we contra danced for the first time. I think Brent enjoyed it (I hope!); it was definitely a new experience for both of us.

Work has been more frustrating than usual lately. I feel like I’m constantly messing things up–or at least, my slip-ups are the only things that are being pointed out to me. Thankfully, after my Sunday night shift I got a “Good job this weekend” from my boss, which was MUCH appreciated, since he seemed to be the only one acknowledging the fact that I was trying to do well like I usually do. Unfortunately we had a disagreement on Saturday, but he sort of made up for it in a sense by helping me out with another dispute I was having with a coworker. I’m still upset about what happened on Saturday, but I think I’ll avoid going into any detail. I hate lingering on things.

In other news… I got my grandma’s old bike fixed up on Friday. And by “fixed up” all I really mean is that I got reflectors and a bell for it. The lady at Revolution Bicycles in Saugerties reassured me that the tires didn’t need to be replaced as I had thought they may, and the bike was in fine working condition aside from a slight bend in the back wheel and the fact that the gear shift doesn’t work too well. I asked her how old she thought she bike was and she said probably about 40 years, guessing that it was made sometime in the 60s. She also told me that if they were to have a bike like mine and fix the gear shift on it and sell it at their shop, they would ask for about $150 for it, which surprised me. So I’m very happy with it, and I’m definitely planning on using it to get myself around Albany on days that I don’t have the car and don’t feel like taking the bus.

Hmm, what else… Well, I’ve got plans to go and visit Brent on Columbus Day weekend. His 22nd birthday is the 13th so, while I won’t actually be able to stay in the city until then, it will be nice to spend a weekend with him to hang out and to celebrate that (and our 3-month anniversary on the 12th ). I’m not quite sure what we’ve got planned yet, but I’m trusting that he’ll figure some things out for us that won’t demand too much money, since he knows I’m a bit low right now. We’ll definitely stop by the Fordham area, though, and get pizza–and he also has a kickball game that Sunday for the adult league he’s in, so I’ll get to watch him play. =)

I suppose that’s all I really have to say for now. Class starts in 40 minutes and I should get coffee or something to make sure I can stay awake for it. I’ll try and post again sometime next week(ish). Till then, さようなら!

So right now I’m sitting in Panera Bread, enjoying a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup (theirs is the best) and sipping iced tea while I wait to head back to campus for my next class. I was borderline late to my first one today–I left Catskill around 10:20 and stopped to get gas at a place that has it for $2.51/gallon, and right after I parked and started walking to class thinking I had 15 minutes, I remembered that on Wednesdays, Japanese is at 11:30, not 11:45. Thankfully I was able to power-walk down the hallway and ended up coming in right behind my professor, who had just left the bathroom. Score. =D

So now I’m eating lunch, and my next class isn’t until 4:15. I really need to find something better to do with the 3 hour 45 minute gap I have between classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. Usually I just sit on campus and fiddle around on my laptop, maybe read a bit for the classes I have later. If only part-time jobs were more flexible… It would be awesome if I could find a 3-hour shift somewhere.

Which reminds me… I need to start looking into jobs. I’m so picky, though. I really hope I can find something decent for when the winter break hits. I move in with Alex at the beginning of January–which means I need to start paying rent then, too. Just working at the theatre definitely won’t cut it, so I’m going to have to find something up in Albany, either for the mornings or the evenings, depending on how my class schedule ends up working out. Like I mentioned before, I’d reeeeeally love to work at this old theatre called the Madison Theatre, but I’m not sure when I should apply for a job that I wouldn’t want to start until early January. Hmm.

Oh well. I think I’ve still got some time before I should really start to get worried. In the meantime, I’ll just focus on trying to save up some money to cover the first couple months’ rent if I can. It’s just been difficult so far because I’m not used to paying for my own gas all the time, but now that I’m the one using the minivan the most, it’s on my shoulders (and wallet). Hopefully I’ll get my bike all fixed up soon, though, so I can use that instead of taking the bus. Once that happens I’ll probably only use the van on the weekends.

Okay, I’m starting to ramble. Hmm. I need to get my more recent photos of the day up. I really should go back to posting them on the day I take them. And I need to work on finding interesting things to take photos of… Sometimes I find myself just taking photos for the sake of having something to post, and that definitely isn’t what I was aiming for when I decided to start my photo-a-day project.

*sigh* I guess I’m all out of things to say. I could have sworn I had more I wanted to talk about today, but I must have forgotten. Oh well. Hopefully next time I’ll write something a bit more intriguing. =P

キラ

Anyway. Everything has been going quite well since I last posted. I worked over the weekend, as always, and the majority of my time spent not at work was spent playing (and on Sunday, beating) Arkham Asylum.

Great game, by the way. I’m very glad that only one portion of it got tedious (Croc’s lair, for those who have played); the rest was challenging but not absurdly so, and it was nice to know I could explore all the areas I went to without having to trek through seemingly-endless mazes of rooms and air vents–though they still made it difficult to find some of the more tricky Riddler trophies, which is a good thing. I still need to go back and work on finding the rest of them. (And I don’t even need to explain why the Scarecrow parts are both awesome and creepy as hell.)

That aside… Hmm, not much else has been going on. Man, I say that every time I write in here, but I really just can’t think of anything amazing to talk about. I’m seeing Brent on the 25th… Yay! He’s coming up that weekend since we both have off school that Monday because of Yom Kippur. I’ll be going down to see him on Columbus Day weekend since his 22nd birthday is October 13th; then he’ll be coming up again for Halloween weekend. Originally we had planned for me to visit him that weekend so we could go to the parade in the city, but I have to work, so I guess we’ll save that for next year. I’m planning on dragging him trick-or-treating with me this year, though.

I’ve really got to think of a select few topics to try and focus on when I write here so I don’t have to jump around so much. Japanese is still going fine, but I’m still surrounded by people who live for anime and don’t care enough to pronounce ‘manga’ the right way. Oh well. It comes with the major, I guess. So far, though, it’s been really nice not having to worry about a ton of classwork. I’m sure that next semester will be more difficult, but like I said before, I’ll worry about that when the time comes. For now I’m just going to focus on getting good grades in the classes I’m taking, and…hopefully starting my job search in a month or two. Eep. (Madison Theatre, please please hire me, I would absolutely love to work for you next semester.)

Edit: Oh, and I’ve also started doing a small project, though I’m not sure how long I’ll keep it going. I’ve been posting up some post-it notes in random places around campus, with various things written/drawn on them. I don’t know if that’s actually legal, but… I thought it would be fun.

The past week has been an interesting combination of hectic but enjoyable. I started classes, and I’ve got homework and plenty of reading and studying to do. I’m spending my nights at three different places throughout the week–my Dad’s on Sundays and Tuesdays; my Mom’s on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; and Alex’s apartment on Mondays and Wednesdays. I picked up a parking decal today for whenever I decide to drive myself to school. I even bought folders and organized them for each of my classes. Case and point: I am awesomely prepared for this semester.

Nothing much has been going on outside of school and work, and a much-anticipated visit from Brent this past weekend. (We had a great time, by the way–we watched Inglourious Basterds and played frisbee golf for the first time, along with going in the batting cages at Puttin’ Plus and playing mini golf, air hockey and go-karting there. He beat me at everything, but that’s besides the point. =P)

Speaking of spare time… I’ve decided that I won’t keep myself hung up too much on worrying about how I’ll go about finishing school within the next year and a half. I will, of course, keep it in mind and make sure I get things sorted out as I should, but I’m not going to let it stress me out. I’m definitely taking this semester as a sort of break; not entirely, since I’m obviously still taking classes, but I think things will be a bit more laid-back than what I’m used to, which will be nice. And hopefully, that will also mean I’ll have more time to work and to see Brent. =)

In other news: I met up with my friend Tom for lunch today. We’ve been friends for a while, and last summer we were really close, but since this past winter we haven’t been talking nearly as much as we used to. He just transferred to UAlbany, too, so I’m thinking maybe I’ll try and reestablish something at least sort of resembling the friendship we had before. So, I’m keeping my hopes up for that to work out. I don’t seem to be very good at making new friends, and I know he isn’t really fond of change (like moving into a dorm 35 miles from home), so maybe us hanging out will make up for some of that.

(Also, I think I just got a smack of good karma [maybe for that good deed I did the other day?]–right after I finished that paragraph, someone came and sat down next to me and struck up conversation. Wow.)

Hm… I guess that’s all for today. I never know how to end my blog posts. Brent does it so well in his. Maybe I’ll have him teach me. =P

キラ

Right now my mind is focused on Japanese, and on how my class went. This semester I had to choose between taking Japanese 200 for the whateverth time around, or attempting to take Japanese 300. I’ve had 3 years of Japanese prior to coming here, so in theory I should already be done with that requirement for my major. But, I still feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of the language, and I feel like my year in Japan didn’t teach me as much as I had hoped for since I was in a higher level of language classes than I probably should have been.

So I’m taking this semester as a semi-fresh start. I know that deciding to take J200 instead of 300 will set me back a semester or a year; originally I was supposed to be graduating this coming spring, but the chances of that actually happening are very, VERY slim to none. I know it will be a pain to pay off the extra loans, but I also know that it’s increasingly common for undergraduate students to spend an extra year or two in school–and since I have NO idea what I want to do after college, I think I’m okay with that for now.

Anyway, back to Japanese. I feel that this year will help me get better at it faster–both because the course I’m in seems like it will be half review for me, and because more of it will be taught in English than I’m used to, which I think will make it easier for me to understand the various grammar patterns and vocabulary that’s presented to us. Hopefully all of that means that I can get to a level where I’m confident that I’ll do fine next year in J300, and will be able to feasibly continue learning the language beyond what’s taught in the classroom.

Tomorrow is my third day of class. I have a verb review quiz, and I know I’ll do fine. It’s been a while since I felt confident in the little Japanese I do know, but I definitely feel like this year will change that.

I’m nervous. I’m a little excited. I haven’t been in school for two months; I haven’t been in an American school for fifteen. All that’s going through my mind right now is “please don’t give us a quiz on our first day here, please don’t ask me to talk in front of the class, please don’t assume that because I just got back from studying in Japan I’m anywhere near fluent” (though I wish I were).

Anyway. So this is my first day at UAlbany, and my first time writing in this thing. I decided to start blogging again (on a *hopefully* regular basis) after–bear with me–my boyfriend, Brent, decided to start his own blog relating to what’s been going on in his life as of late. Brent will be starting his first year of teaching in NYC as a special ed teacher this school year; conversely, I will be finishing up college in the coming year or so (I hope).

Also contrary to Brent having general set topics for his blog (teaching and baseball, mainly), I have no idea what I’ll write about. Why? Well, because I have no idea what I want to do, to put it bluntly. Maybe I’ll talk about my quest to feel set in my major. Maybe I’ll discuss my search for a fitting minor. Maybe I’ll ramble about wanting to quit school and travel the country. Maybe I’ll vent when I can’t find a job in Albany to help me pay rent when I move in with my best friend in January. Maybe I’ll write about how it’s really boring waiting 3 1/2 hours in between my classes on Monday and Wednesdays.

Whatever I do end up writing, I hope it will at the very least be worth reading to someone. Maybe it won’t help you, but I hope at least someone will find this intriguing and (possibly) entertaining.