Dog Years

Today I spent a sunny afternoon on the CSU campus with my dog of ten and a half years (That's seventy five in Doggy Years). Aside from enjoying the grass and the springtime sunshine, I had a few good laughs at the openmouthed stares as we strolled through campus.

My dog Jenny (VII Trails Guinevere if you call her by her breeder name)is about 150 lbs and comes up to midcalf. She's a big girl on the outside, but her heart is even bigger. The reason for our get together today was as sad one. Jenny is really really sick, she has cancer, and as a family, we decided that surgery while a possibility is just not the most loving option because the odds are against us. So for the next week or so, Jenny will be living out her last days with my family in the forests of Colorado, playing on the property with our other furry family (Ella and Walker), spending evenings chewing on a bone or snoozing at the foot of my father's big chair.

I was heartbroken to see her get into the back of the stationwagon today when it was time to head home, and when I was saying my goodbyes I got her full loving attention while I cried a little rubbing her ears (her favorite petting spot). We as a family have had sick dogs before, but Jenny is really the only one that I can fully remember growing up with. When I wanted to do dogshowing she was the one that trotted along beside me in the practice ring and held her poses like she was supposed to. We went on walks through the woods in the summer, and she kept my cold feet warm in the winter. We spent weekends in costume at the Renaissance Fair and many days in the grass or the snow just playing around. I will miss our grumble, growl, grumble wars, she always won of course.

It's been a blissful ten years, and I'm torn to see God's decision for her finally becoming visable. I just hope that where she goes after this will be just as happy for her as all the years my family and I have loved her.

I'm going to miss her so much, it is going to be very hard for me, because I won't be there when it's time for her to go, but I know this is for the best and I will always be greatful for the years I was allowed to spend with her.

You will be missed Jenny, and you are still my number one four pawed Princess!!!!!

Curveball...

So I sorta fought with the Marine on Sunday night (okay it was all me telling him somethings that are pretty bad that have been on my mind in the past few days) And I've been a total wreck. It's now Tuesday, I haven't slept in 48 hours, or spoken to him on the phone and I haven't been able to keep any food down. Yesterday afternoon I feel asleep in my Syntax class and felt horrible, I never do that.

I'm doing my best to still look and give the personna that I am at my best, but its failing miserably, if we don't talk soon I may be making a trip to the hospital if my stomach doesn't stop rejecting everything.

I hate fighting so much. I hate when I fight, I hate when others fight (parents etc) it does literally stress me to the point where I'm physically sick.

J-CUP And Back to The Daily Grind

Yesterday was the Statewide Japan Cup competition so I'm sure you all want the run down.
My team and I studied our butts off this semester. We walked into the prelims with our heads held high, studied and prepared, (well I didn't feel prepared but who does?) and we fell down, hard. We lost to the other teams with our lowly 40 points, it was embarrassing, and I could barely face Seta and Beecken-sensei's when we walked out of the room, let alone my senpai who trained me. Many of the questions were the grammar or the other teams just beat us to the bell. And my mom and sister even came to watch. I know everyone is proud but there is a little bit of me that feels like I let them all down. It was hard to fight back the tears and I'm even a bit weepy now just writing about it.

However I didn't have long to dwell on that, our other teams did really awesome, two of them made it two the finals so I couldn't stop smiling after that. I did my best and did my part and I feel that as a team it was good. I helped the finals teams study which paid off, since CSU took home 1st AND 2nd place!I

As for me now that I've thought about it, even though we did miserable, we showed up and tried our hardest and I LEARN SOOOOOO MUCH! I know all these things and I DON'T need a competition to tell me that I'm amazing, I realy accomplished a feat in these past few months and I can't wait to help future Japanese students do the same. Maybe teaching and learning really is my true passion. I get so excited just thinking of the idea of sharing the knowledge that I worked so hard to gain.

Anyway after the competition the real fun started! We had a HUGE celebratory dinner at Sonoda's. Everyone sat in the back room with three big tables and we just ate sushi and Japanese food and the table ordered FIVE of these gaint alcoholic punches, (which I drank half of one because they weren't carding... but felt a bit bad later because Beecken sensei is pretty strict about underage drinking, I need to be more careful in the future, but I think she let it slide because of J-Cup. Daniel, Sydney and I had a great time, they were hamming it up and I was laughing my ass off. Those two never ceases to fill my life with humor! What good friends! After paying the table's probabaly close to $1000 bill, we headed to DJ's Karaoke.... and it was super fun I got to sing some of my favorite songs, but at the same time I wish we had gotten two rooms because 26 people in one room was really hot and we didn't get to sing much. That and while all my classmates are great I'm sure, some of the people I would have rather not been singing with, I really love karoke but I like to do it with my good friends. It's just more personal and special that way..... I just feelng that it would have been better, cause the room is so hot that half of us were standing outside looking through the viewing window waiting for our song so it could have been more fun. Towards the end of the night I went out and talked to Arlet and Derek, and had part of a Black Stone and a bit of Soju, I actually wouldn't have minded just heading to a quiet club or lounge having a couple of smokes and just talking with my near and dears, by that point in the night.

Alas it was nearly midnight when we headed home, I ended up sleeping on Daniel's shoulder most of the way... which I feel bad for... and a couple other things regarding him, make me a little confused, but it's probably just the tiredness talking... I may address it at a later date.

So anyway all in all a SUPER EPIC Saturday, and to everyone, my teammates Phen and Syd, I love you both, and to my great teachers and friends,

本当にありがとうございます！！！！！！！！

PS: NOW ITS TIME TO FOCUS ON MY DIET!