Cherry Blossom Adventures

Do you keep a journal/diary? I have tried and tried over the years to keep a steady journal…I always have enough to say so I don`t know why I have trouble. Maybe it is because when I reread through what I wrote sometimes i think `Now that is just dumb` so I stop journalling…or rip out pages. But that isn`t the point is it.

I have a journal somewhere of my first year of highschool. I also have a couple of thick journals that I kept aged 14 and 15. Since then I have nothing that has been kept for more than a month or so. I have pages (Ripped out of a journal but still I have them) from when I was in Europe last year. They are in an envelope under my desk that is sealed and has my name and Europe 2006 on it.

I think perhaps I just love the idea of a journal. I never really stick with it. My blog is a bit like a journal but obviously i don`t go into my innermost thought or anything on-line. Nor do I write about every little thing. Is that what a journal is for though? To record every little thing?

What is a journal to you? Does it have only writing? Does it have colour? Does it have photos, pictures and random poems among other things? Your own original artwork?Does it record every moment of your life? Do you ever have a slump, write nothing for 2 weeks, a month, six months, then go back to it. Do you use the same journal then or do you use another one? A newer book? Do you ever show it to anyone? Would you ever show your kids or partner if you had either?These are all questions that are running through my head as I write this because yet again I have decided to start writing another journal.

I was partly-inspired ( to start another journal I mean) by this site which was linked from 52 projects. I have followed Keri Smith`s work on and off over the years…even if you don`t have a journal, and have no desire to keep one then you should still head over to the site and head to the flickr account she has set up because some of the photos of others journals are great!

I was also inspired by Phil over at Skinnylattegirl because she often refers to her journal in her posts and I love the way she writes so perhaps if I kept a steady journal I could write like her too!! I doubt that will happen though….

I was also inspired just by the fact that I love the idea of a journal ( I love the ideas of most things at first though!). I enjoy writing, I like books (and a journal is essentially a book with mainly blank pages…well in my case) and I really would like to keep something that tracks my thoughts and life.

Who keeps a journal? Who doesn`t? What do you use it for ? Or, why don`t you keep one? Share your thoughts? Am I crazy to think that keeping one this time will work for me and I won`t give up after like, three days?

I start a lot of things and never finish them…at least a journal, while it needs a start, could really end anywhere…

Popularity: 3% [?]

• Today I received a Jarkey from D`Jen…So I will never have trouble with hard to open jars again….like I did a couple of weeks ago. I love coming home and having post. so thankyou D`jen for making my day.
• The hamami party went really really well on the weekend despite lack of blossoms….and I will blog about it eventually and post photos. In the mean time check out Deannes and masao`s blog here to see some photos! Wherever I go this weekend I will be sure to take photos of the blossom trees cos now they ACTUALLY have flowers!
• I have started to build our board game selection up…now we have scrabble AND monopoly. I always played the British version in Australia but turns out the version I bought was American/Japanese. I miss Piccadilly lane. I heard board games.
• I have actually been making some jewelery lately. A couple of necklaces and more than a couple pairs of earrings. Problem is once I make stuff I don`t know what to do with it. I think doing craft with kiddies at school recently has released some much needed creative juices!!!!
• I am on my 5th book for The Spring Reading Thing. I have read At first sight by Nicholas Sparks, Shopaholic and baby by Sophie Kinsella, Diary of a Mad Mom To Be by Laura Wolf and The Memory Keeper`s Daughter by Kim Edwards. I really liked The Memory Keepers`s Daughter and I hadn`t read a family saga like that in a while so it was good to read something a bit more `literary` I am now reading ` Something borrowed by Emily Giffin and already I feel myself being sucked in. I am reading a lot more since I started the challenge so I guess all I did need was a bit of motivation. Anyone reading anything good at the moment?
• I am not sure drinking a bottle of champagne tonight, cooking dinner and playing monopoly with James and Shun was the best way to spend my night since I have work tomorrow but it was a hell of a lot of fun. Why are board games so fun?
• There has been a lot of talk of our future lately. Two friends, both older than me, have announced they are pregnant. And a couple of other friends are getting married. Is it just me or whenever you hear of news like this your way of thinking changes and you start thinking a screaming, nappy wearing baby sounds appealing. Or that wearing a white dress and eating over priced food sounds like a good idea? Future talk so far has lead us to the fact that if we were to get engaged any time soon (and it is on the cards) that we should go to Australia, at least for a bit, while Shun is young enough to get a working holiday visa before we actually got married. I like living in Japan, but I really think that Shumpei really needs to work on his English because I could always find jobs in Japan, sure mainly in English teaching but I could still find work, but if he had to, at the moment he probably couldn`t find work in Australia due to his lack of English skills. He has the coding, computer knowledge etc to work as a computer engineer anywhere but if he wanted to work in Australia then he would have to be able to speak English. We could work on English here but I lose patience with him when we talk in English because he switches back to Japanese so quickly. Or while he listens to and understands me when I speak English he will still reply in Japanese. Talking about the future is kind of scary though…the talk of marriage and children used to be just that `Talk` but now it seems like it is becoming more of a reality.
• Tomorrow we will have kids at the kindy again. I have kind of missed having kids around. School finished up last Tuesday and we had parent teacher conferences for the next couple of days and have had teacher development days these last couple of days. As much as preparing for craft activities and writing the curricululm is fun and relaxing I do miss having the kids around. BRING BACK THE KIDS!
• There was a big earthquake in Japan on the weekend, apparently Tokyo had some small tremors from it although I slept right through it. In fact I had no idea there had even been an earthquake until my dad rang me about 10am…when I was still sleeping. We turned on the news to have a look and at that time it seemed despite the intensity that nobody had been seriously injured or died. Of course now we know there were more injuries that first thought and two people died. Everytime I hear news like this I start to freak out that there will be a big earthquake in Tokyo soon and I will panic and not know what to do. Since it will be a new semester at the kindy from mid April we will have to do new earthquake drills. Isn`t it a bit strange that in Australia we have a lot of safety and fire drills but here it is mainly earthquake drills?

Popularity: 2% [?]

I couldn`t remember the English word for seahorse today…I think I have been in Japan too long.

I can also never remember the word renovate. That word eludes me all the time…Although I can`t remember the Japanese word for that either!

Is it normal to forget words from your native language?

Popularity: 3% [?]

Our apartment is 25m sq…If your not sure how small that actually is and you live in Australia then it is probably the size of your bedroom… Put it this way my mothers bedroom is bigger than our whole apartment. Our apartment consists of a bedroom, a hallway (that has the kitchen* in it, as well as the washing machine, and 5 bins.) and a bathroom which two people can not stand in comfortably. I know this because we only have one mirror, one sink etc so when we are both in a rush in the morning cleaning our teeth at the same time can become a challenge unless one of us stands in the bath/shower.

And I am sick of it. I am sick of having no space. And because we have too much stuff then the apartment always seems messy. I hate mess and I am a fairly clean person but this apartment does my head in because it never ever seems clean. But what really annoys me is that if I clean it then less than a day later it is messy again. I can`t really blame Shumpei…he is not as clean as me but he isn`t dirty or messy either. It is just there is no space. From the toilet to the sink in the kitchen it is only 1 and a half meters apart… I know because I just measured it….and that is just crazy.

I want to move. And we will be moving later this year because living in a space this size might be OK for one person (in fact for Tokyo it is not bad in terms of size of a 1k…which means one bedroom and kitchen.) but with the two of us here it is just too much. I eat, Internet, sleep, watch TV and get dressed all in the one room. Because there is no other rooms.

We will be looking for an apartment classified as a 2DK…which means two bedrooms (But one of the rooms will most likely be the size of a closet while the other one we will sleep in) a dining and kitchen. They might not be separate it depends on the place but usually a DK just means a bigger kitchen…and you should have place for a table. I really want a table. I am sick of eating on the floor or on the bed. It just seems so gross…

I am sick of a lot of things. I used to love this apartment. I think because technically it is my first flat…I either lived at home or at a dorm up until now so it was so nice to have my own space. Then Shumpei moved in, which was great, but it meant that I had half the space…and really there wasn`t enough space to begin with. We have lived like this for almost a year now and the thing is it doesn`t bother him at all. Sure he agrees it is kind of small for two people but he would be quite content to stay in this apartment. I know it is a money thing too….for both of us. To move we will have to pay about 6 months rent…. We pay just over 1000 Australian dollars a month to live here at the moment but for a bigger apartment we would have to pay more obviously. And the system in Japan is that you pay 2 months key money (which you never get back ) 2 months bond (which you might get back) one month agent fee then your first months rent. So to move we`d probably have to put forward about 3500 dollars each or 380,000yen.

We haven`t really started apartment hunting yet mainly because I do not have the money to move at the moment. I wish I did, but it will take me at least a couple of months to save that much. Plus I have a ticket to China to buy, among other things.

Don`t get me wrong there are some great things about our apartment. For example it came with a washing machine, microwave and fridge (although we have our own fridge now) so when I moved in I didn`t have to buy any of those things, It is in Kichijoji (A really great place) and it is less than a five minute walk to the station. But I guess I am just over it… I am not sure how much longer I can stand living in an apartment this small.

Anyone want to give us an apartment for free? In Tokyo? Preferably still in Kichijoji? I would really appreciate it…Thanks!

Oh and the picture at the top is not of our apartment but it is basically the same layout and size.

*When I say kitchen I mean sink, and one hot plate with 3 inches of bench space. The microwave, rice cooker and fridge are all against the wall in the hallway.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Well Saturday`s hanami party is going ahead despite the fact that the cherry blossom god obviously didn`t hear my prayers when I asked for more blossoms (and no rain!)…since there aren`t many blossoms out yet and rain is expected for Saturday afternoon.

Oh well, I have joined forces with Sushizume and they will be holding there pink party for Tokyo Made right next to us. I invited them both a couple of weeks back and she emailed me back to say that they were having a pink party that weekend and could they set up next to us. As if i could say no to that!!!

So if a little bit of rain doesn`t bother you and you can live with lack of blossoms then you should definitely come join us in the park on Saturday!

We will be the ones with the fake cherry blossom tree (according to Sushi…not sure if it is true or not yet though?)…from about 12:00! I am still trying to come up with something pink to wear!

Now I just need to say another quick prayer…

Dear Cherry Blossom God,

Please make all the cherry blossoms, especially the pink ones, come out over night. I will be your best friend.

Thanks and peace out,

Lulu

Popularity: 3% [?]

Today an iron fell on my head. Yep, and iron. I was at school and it was on top of the craft supply closet and it fell on my head. I am really glad it was me and not one of the kiddies (cos it would of squashed them) but ouch it hurt. Now I have a big bump on the back of my head.

It reminded me of the road runner cartoon that I loved as a child. I wish I was as fast as the road runner today.

Shumpei and I were talking about cartoons we watched as kids. I was trying to see what they used to get here in the way of imported cartoons. We both agreed that road runner along with teenage mutant ninja turtles and batman were some of our favourites. I also reminisced about such cartoons as The smurfs, X-men, rugrats, Care Bears, Madeline, Winne the Pooh, The adventures of TinTin, The Flintstones, Mr Gadget , Gummi Bears, Scooby Doo Show, Tom and Jerry and Where`s Wally.

Shumpei thinks that the smurfs are really strange looking. Can anyone tell me what the Smurfs actually were? And were they on drugs?

So what were everybody else`s favourite cartoons as kids, or even the cartoons you watch now. I now watch Dora the Explorer and Sponge Bob with the kids at school on rainy days when we can`t go outside and I am converted. I don`t like Blues Clues though…

Also what cartoons can you still watch now if they come on TV?

Ps: I have already finished two books on the my list for the Spring Reading Thing…I am a nerd.

Popularity: 2% [?]

I talked about this challenge already a little bit on Monday but now it is official and I have put together a list of 25 books, of which, 10 I have to read before June 21st for the Spring Thing Challenge. As today is the first official day of Spring (Is it just me, or does everyone else think that Spring actually starts on March 1st…In japan they say Spring starts today, and apparently they do in America too. It is even a public holiday here) So here is my list (including amazon links..In case anyone is so inspired by my list of books that they wish to purchase them!)…Most of them I own already but I have put a couple of other books that I have been meaning to buy and read, or books that are coming out this spring! Oh and the reason behind the huge list,(despite my goal being 10 books) is that I am a mood reader so I wanted to still give myself something to choose from.

So here goes, my list for

Kafta on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis (recommended to me by my brother…who never reads anything…but he liked this one so I finally picked up my own copy the other day)

Light on Snow by Anita Shreve

At first sight by Nicholas Sparks

Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Diary of a mad mom-to-be by Laura Wolf

1984 by George Orwell

The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

First Among Equals by Jeffrey Archer

Something borrowed by Emily Giffin

Balzan and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

Mad River Road by Joy Fielding

Under the Duvet by Marian Keyes

Buddhada by Anne Donovan (not on amazon)

The Red Hat Club by Haywood Smith

The Botox Diaries by Janice Kaplan & Lynn Scgburnberger ( I have to admit I bought this just because of the title…the idea made me laugh!)

The Memory Keeper`s Daughter by Kim Edwards

I`m watching you by Karen rose

Plus five books that I don`t actually own at the moment but that I want to read and hope to own soon

Eat Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss

Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich

Nineteen minutes by Jodi Picoult ( I love her…I have read everything else she has written and only realized recently she had released a new book)

Broken Flower by V.C Andrews

Ok, well I can`t come up with a fifth, so it is a free choice. A bit like a wildcard! I don`t want to limit myself too much!

I have already started two of the books!

I was tagged by Natalie to do this book meme also so am including it here. A couple of books on the list I own but have never read. I will bold the ones I have read. and Italicise the ones I want too!

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien) (I attempted the first one once…BUT HAVE NO DESIRE TO READ THEM)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher and the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible (Not all of it though)
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations(Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger) I Really want to read this.
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMavrier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

mmm….I counted 37 bolded out of 100. Guess it is not bad since I am only 22. Will have to add some of the others to the next reading challange I do perhaps.

Popularity: 3% [?]

While mine won`t be as entertaining as Steph`s…I have decided to write about my garbage distress…unlike her`s mine doesn`t end with hot garbage men or me in little shorts and a see through top!

In Japan, well at least where I live, the garbage system is way to complicated for a simple foreigner to understand. I have instructions on my walls in English and Japanese ( I used to have only English but then the bf moved in and he kept making mistakes so I had to get a Japanese copy from the building manager…He was putting clean paper and plastic together…WHICH IS JUST NOT DONE!)

Firstly there are three coloured bags. Oh and garbage is taken out everyday Monday through Friday.

Monday is burnable rubbish. Green bags.

Tuesday is non-burnable rubbish. Also green bags.

Wednesday is plastic, separated into two bags. Clear bags. (One has clean, washed plastic, the other has plastic pet bottles with labels and lids removed…the labels and lids go in the other plastic bag.

Thursday is burnable rubbish again. Green bags.

Friday is paper (clean only), glass (bottles etc must have caps and labels removed), cans (washed) and dangerous garbage (meaning batteries and aerosol cans). All in clear bags except the dangerous garbage which goes into red bag.. The paper must be bundled with red string if it is magazines or boxes. Tape must be removed from boxes…

I live in an apartment that is 25m sq (read: TINY) and half of it is taken up with fricken garbage bins. I have five in total…inside my apartment plus the plastic bottles and non-burnable garbage ( I never have much…) goes onto the floor. Because I don`t have any space for other bins.

Oh by the way all bags have to bought and are pretty damn expensive! The garbage has to go downstairs into the entrance sometime between 9 at night and 9 the next morning. I am quite lucky now, my oya-san (means owner, although she is actually the manager I guess of the building) is not that pedantic about it and I think if people make mistakes she just fixes it (BUT EWWWW…..OTHER PEOPLES GARBAGE) although if it is not in the right bags she usually returns it to the person if she knows who it is or leaves it downstairs with a note on it.

But before, when I lived at the international house when I was university student all hell broke loose when the garbage system for our area changed to the above (By the way the above system is not a japan wide system or even a Tokyo wide system…I can not believe they have different ways of separating garbage in different suburbs but they do!)…before that it was just burnable and non burnable and cans, glass and dangerous garbage was separate. And it was all in the same colour clear bags. Oh and burnable was paper and food and non-burnable was plastic (Now for some strange reason plastic (dirty) is burnable…clean of course must go out with the other plastic on Wednesday!). We had lectures on garbage separation, were given English instructions (the Chinese girl was given Chinese instructions) and I believe there was a couple of powerpoint slide shows. But basically none of us could be bothered. And our oya-san was hellish…SHE WOULD GO THROUGH OUR GARBAGE AND THEN PUT IT BACK IN OUR KITCHENS OR OUTSIDE OUR DOORS IF SHE FOUND SOMETHING WITH OUT NAME ON IT OR SOMETHING TYING IT BACK TO ME or SOMEBODY ELSE.

This is where it got complicated. One guy hated her (the oya-san). And would cut everything up with his name on it tying back to him or leave it and put it into other people`s bins cos he was a lazy fucker who couldn`t be bothered to separate his garbage. HE PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER. It was a nightmare. She knew it was him but couldn`t prove it. There were letters flying back and forth…Once she even pulled certain things out of the garbage and put them outside his door. It was just gross.

Plus there was 3 or 4 people sharing a kitchen. We were all responsible for our own bedroom rubbish but the kitchen rubbish there was a roster. And none of us ever remembered to do it until it was overflowing and the oya-san would relent and take it out for us. Then leave notes. My biggest pet hate was washing out juice containers then having to cut them up…THAT`S RIGHT….CUT THEM UP.

I believe in recycling. I do. But this is just too much….Especially when you only have such a small space to keep rubbish in your apartment and no big bins in the basement of anything to put it all. If you forget one week your stuck with it…In your apartment…til the next time. (Note: Not all apartments are like this…most big places have basements with big garbage bins)

So next time you think `Oh I don`t want to take out my ONE bag of garbage` or ` God, I don`t want to take out the bin.` think of me…and the fact I have to wake up 15 minutes before I have to just to separate and prepare my garbage for collection!

Ps: Read this for some other interesting points. This is not my area but I too have to do most of the things listed.

pps: I left out the instructions for clothing and shoes and handbags…they don`t all go together but there are different rules for them. Oh and there are special days if you want to throw out fridges, freezes, microwaves etc too.

Popularity: 3% [?]

When I was about 11, grade six, i remember attending the St Rita`s school fete and spending less than 10 dollars but taking home more than a 100 books (I was given 10 days for the day and it all went to books except for a drink I think). A lot of them were light weight crap, but I read them all…I was on crutches at the time (Not the first, and not the last let me tell you!) and my mum`s friend heather had to carry the boxes of books to her car for me since I couldn`t do it. It was near school holidays when I bought the books…and I read a couple a day for the whole holidays. I love books, I have always loved books. There are photos of me as a toddler on the toilet reading books, reading to my dolls and bears and sitting on the floor pouring theough my parents ancient funken wagnells.

My parents were supposed to move while I was in Japan in 2004/2005 so before I left I had to pack up my room and I was limited to one box of books that I could keep. I have over 500 books for sure and I sold a lot of them to a second hand book store on the goldcoast and gave the rest to the mater hospital in Brisbane. I had never parted with books well. No matter how old or crappy they are, I always wanted to keep them. Even if it meant having piles and piles of books in my closet, and the spare room closet, and on my floor and on my book shelves. I kept books that I would want my children to read, especially if they were girls, as well as my favourite books. But I actually did fairly well at clearing them out. Now that I live in an apartment the size of a shoebox I am limited to how many books I can keep here. I have a small bookshelf and one shelf has non-fiction that I keep. Mainly travel guides, writing guidlines and some history stuff. The other shelf has japanese-language and study books. And I have allowed one shelf for fiction that is always overflowing…But I can keep about 30 to 35 fiction books in the apartment at a time…so I have to part with books a lot more than I used to. I realize now though that I have to get serious, stop buying more books, and read the ones I have.

I might not be what the call a `well-read` person but I have read more than my fair share of books. Considering the amount of books I read it is a wonder why my spelling and grammar are still so bad but that is another story. I remember reading Anne of Green Gables for the first time as a kid. My grandmother in New Zealand had sent me a copy and it had been bounded upside down by mistake. By the time she realized and took it back there were no more so she sent it to me anyway, with a note that said `Sorry you`ll have to read it upside down/back to front but you`ll be the only girl with an upside down copy of Anne of Green Gables`. I still have it.

Lately I have had a hard time getting into a book (In fact I have been starting books and not finishing them and putting them back on the bookshelves to start another…This is not like me at all). It isn`t like I read really in depth stuff. There are a couple of reasons behind this I think (This been that I can`t seem to get into a book). One is that I don`t catch the train or public transport much anymore and that was always my time for reading, and if I was into a book then when I got home I would lie on the bed and read some more yet now that I don`t have that I never seem to have enough time to get into a book. Two, my eyesight is getting worse and I kept forgetting to wear my glasses when I read meaning that the words all kind of blur together making me tired very quickly. Three, I haven`t come across a really good book recently and usually when you read a really good book and finish it it makes you want to read more.

I have realized that I needed something to get me motivated and reading again. There are lots of reading challanges out there on different blogs and website (I have been thinking about books and reading a lot in the last week and have started reading a lot of book, writing and reading blogs that review books and blogs of people that read a lot), but most start at the begining of a year. I did come across this one though and the guidelines are fairly loose so I thought I would sign up in the hope that it would give me some motivation. It is for spring, and starts later on in the week and more info can be found here

I can choose any amount of books and while I have a lot of stuff that I already own laying around the apartment and I recently picked up a few classics that I feel I SHOULD read. I aim to read at least 10 books during the challange although since I am a bit of a mood reader I will put up 20 or so books and will choose the 10 from there. I will put the list up in a couple of days, because to be a proper participant I have to give a list.

So who else there likes reading? Leave me info about books if you think I should read them. I usually read anything, (except science fiction mainly…but I don`t like to exclude anything!) and am always up for suggestions.

Popularity: 4% [?]

I can see why ebay and online shopping could get addictive. I was an ebay virgin…yes, you heard correctly…I WAS. Now I am not!!

These cute little shoes arrived on Friday and I can happily say I LOVE THEM! They are my first ever ebay purchase and they will always be held dear to my heart!

Pretty much the extent of my online shopping experiences was with amazon but I now after my first successful purchase on ebay I can feel the pull…and I can hear the computer saying `Go to ebay, go to ebay` but I am resisting that urge, because really I only needed a pair of shoes. I wish I was rich. I am also glad (yet kind of disappointed at the same time) that I don`t have a credit card as such. I have a debit card…so I basically have to have money in the account to purchase anything. This is definitely a good thing considering I am hopeless with money (hence no credit card!) and would buy everything I laid my eyes on if given the chance. Has anyone ever read the shopaholic book series by Sophie Kinsella…Well Becky Bloomwood is me.

I needed shoes for three reasons.

1. Some of my other flats were getting a bit knocked around since I do so much walking here.

2. It is hard to get nice shoes in my size here and

3. well who doesn`t need shoes.

I was going to wait til April when I will be in Australia but I thought I should check out ebay because well I am a sheep, and everyone else was doing it. I have stepped onto the ebay bandwagon! I heart ebay! Yay!

Popularity: 2% [?]