I wish I could help you out with advice about your education and career. Things have changed tremendously since I started and finally finished school. The degrees I have are very public sector oriented, but what you're thinking of doing is applicable to a wider range of businesses. Has your counselor suggested where you may be able to work once you're finished? Internships to see what it's like and gain experience?

We do have a job shadowing program through the school. Maybe I ought to apply to do one as a psychologist and one as, say, an editor or something. The problem is that it would be difficult to shadow a psychologist as so much of what they do is confidential. Well, anyway, I don't have to make the decision now. I'm so close to finishing my AA in Psychology that changing majors right now would just be wasting my time. So I'll complete my AA and then consider a different major when I transfer to university.

Anyone else have anything going on right now? Something you'd like to share with the class?

This place is not as active as I had hoped.

@MyFriends; Last ping here, I promise! But please consider hanging out here with me, as there are so many of you I don't see around much. Especially you guys on staff who don't come out into the forums!

Tell me what you're up to! How you've been! What your plans are for this week!

Interestingly, I didn't get a ping this time. But I saw your post since I'm subscribed.

I've just been busy with work and wedding planning. I finally have a for-sure date now though! We've registered with the shrine for October 25th. So now we just need to get the cameraman sorted out since I think I've decided on my kimono.

What's new with you?

Hooray for an official date! What shrine did you choose? I wanna see pictures!


Things are pretty standard for me. Homework, school, work, weekends with boyfriend, rinse, repeat. I had today off and I meant to spend it on homework, but I just couldn't find the energy. I'm so tired all the time, lately... I try to get up and my body just feels heavier and my brain is foggy and dulled. Blegh... Hoping I can be more productive tomorrow!

Have you been playing Animal Crossing much lately? I just picked it up for the first time in a while yesterday, to do the Easter event.

Oh goodness, I've been feeling really tired lately too. I caught a cold though, so I hope that's the cause and it goes away soon. Hope you can get your energy back, too! The weather here is nice so I'm trying to go outdoors more and walk around to enjoy the sunlight and warm weather before it starts getting super humid.

No, I haven't played Animal Crossing in quite some time, actually. I abruptly stopped playing last winter because I got busy and never got back into it. Someday I want to get back into it.

The shrine is "Shiogama-jinja" (鹽竈神社) in Shiogama City (塩釜市）, which is nearby Sendai. We considered some shrines in Sendai too, but hands down Shiogama-jinja is the most beautiful one around here. Here's a page about the shrine in English and the shrine has it's own website in Japanese with some more pictures. If for some reason you want to read about the history of the shrine, I found this page too.

Honestly, this is a problem I've struggled with for years and years, it just gets worse sometimes and other times I can be somewhat normal. I don't really feel like I have the emotional effects of depression anymore, but these physical ones are still here. Not sure if that's the cause or not (given that, emotionally, I'm better), but man, it's something. I'd like to try to address it, but it's hard to address something when you don't feel like moving.

Hope you get well soon and are able to enjoy the nice weather! I know the weather has made my walks across campus much more nice. I really missed greenery and flowers! My favorite thing is when a breeze carries the scent of some nearby flowers. Mmmm.

Oh goodness, that shrine so beautiful! Will the trees be flowering in October? I'm particularly loving this photo off the English site


The history page is neat too. The view sounds stunning, and it's incredible how old the building is! It sounds and looks like a wonderful location for your wedding. I can't wait to see pictures!!

Hmm... I know what you mean about having something wrong that's probably not normal, but not bad enough to get checked. I swear my nose has been stuffed for a like a year now. It's not bad enough that it impedes my daily life, but I'd like to be normal again. Last time I got checked the doc just said it was allergies and gave me a nose spray but it didn't help. (And my eyes are never itchy, which is what happened when I used to have allergic reactions.) So I dunno! We should both be checked.

It is beautiful! The flowers were in full bloom when we went to register our wedding date, but sadly cherry blossoms don't last long, only about a week. But the flowering time depends on the species and Shiogama-jinja has a variety of trees so I think a least a few will be flowering still when we go back next week or so. Since the wedding won't be until autumn, I don't think many flowers will be in bloom but I'm hoping the trees will be changing colors by then. There should be some evergreen trees too, so hopefully it won't be brown everywhere you look in case the leaves are gone.

Ah! My nose is messed up too! The inside is actually, like, blocking the passageway. I don't know if it's a swelling thing, like a polyp, or if it's that my nose got messed up when I was hit by something. But in my left passage it's all clear and fine, but in my right passage, the... center partition? What do you call that bit that separates your nostrils? comes in and blocks the passageway almost entirely just past the flare of my nostril. It makes it hard for it to drain properly so I've almost always got a runny nose, and just a little bit of mucus renders that nostril completely blocked. It's really a pain when laying down since I'm a side sleeper. Need to get it checked, but... yeah, can't afford that. Hopefully someday I can get it fixed.

Yeah, I knew cherry blossoms only lasted for a bit, but I was hoping some of them were other types of trees. I'm sure it will be beautiful in autumn though, flowers or no! It's a lovely area, and I'm sure they've put great work into making it stunning year round, given the cultural importance of the shrine. You'll be posting the wedding photos on facebook, right?

Bodies are weird, aren't they? Hopefully we can figure out what's up with our noses/tiredness.

I'm so behind on posting stuff to Facebook. I haven't even said I'm engaged on there. But I'll be sure to share at least some pictures of the wedding.

Sometimes I wonder if the two things are related... like if I'm not getting quite enough oxygen and that's making me perpetually tired. Probably not, but I guess the two things started at about the same time.

Yeah, once you get really behind on something, it can be really intimidating to try to get back into it since there's so much to catch up on. I'd say just don't worry about updating everything (like ALL the photos or something), and just maybe do a new profile pic and change your status to engaged and consider yourself caught up. Easy peasy!

Heyo, Biggles' here. I mean, I think, and all. I don't really know anymore.

I know what you mean. With fi---I JUST GOT YOUR AVATAR. WONDERFUL.

How are things going in the land of Biggs?

THANK YOU.

Oh my god, so busy. My classes and my practicum and informational interviews and appointments and junk. I'm tired. Also, baby birds in my eves! Or one, now. If he doesn't learn how to fly I'm going to have to adopt him :o

Are you studying full-time now, or just taking a few classes? What classes are you taking? Do I sound like an older relative right now? Have you grown? Are they feeding you well?

Okay, I completely thought that said "baby birds in my eyes," and read it as such at least five times. I was asking myself "why is the bottom of the y cut off like that..." for a good ten seconds before I realized... that is a v, cherry. that is a letter. Anyway, what kind of bird is it?

It's a part time program, but there's a lot of work that is needed to get the whole of the program, if that makes sense. The internship goes along with all of it.

It was a robin. He or she was out on the ledge yesterday on his own, but he or she seemed all worn out by it all, and had a hard time getting up, and couldn't seem to get into the nest. As the sun set, I had to get a ladder and put him or her back into the nest myself. But today they were stronger and really out on their own, and I think they flew off. The nest looks empty.

It should have been "eaves", that's the problem.

And this is for museum stuff? Or that's a job you were trying to get before this? Ugh, my brain just does not retain information anymore. I'm a horrible friend.

Oh, baby robins are the best. Their beaks are so comically large for their faces since they grow up to be pretty big birds. They always remind me of muppets, what with the mouth that stretches across their whole face and those wispy feathers on the tops of their heads. Although I suppose your robin doesn't look much like that anymore if he's left the nest.

Oh, you're right. Well, I didn't notice anyway.

HIM's in your blanket fort stealin' your blankets

I posted a picture on tumblr yesterday of the nest when it was full.

And yeah, this is museum stuff. I had an informational interview with a woman in the industry that makes me feel like shit. Not a personal thing, just that my program, which isn't the bigger master's program at the university, isn't worth anything. I've had better conversations with other professionals, I really should focus on what they've said...

I've so been meaning to get on more! How have you all been? ^_^

Hello HIM and Moonlit!

Biggs - If most people have said your studies will be worthwhile, then definitely don't worry about what the one person said.



I seem to have fractured my toe.

The weird thing is she works for the university. I know she was trying to make aware of the market (and the increasing professionalization) and all. Still, it just was a weird interview. Like I was commenting on the fact that there is a dichotomy at the moment int he field and was all "well, it's really interesting but also kind of scary, haha" and there was a good five seconds of dead air and then she finally said "Well, I've hope I've answered your questions." The person who recommended her to me said she was a hoot. And one of my classmates is doing her practicum under her and loves her, so I gues (hope?) it was a fluke.

Hm, weird. :/ Well, your mileage may vary when it comes to "great" professors and the like. My boyfriend used to go to my college, and he took this one professor for an English requirement and said he was incredibly tough. I took him and adored his class so much I took another class of his just because he was teaching it.

Is the person who recommended her doing the same studies as you are?

Pardon me for jumping in, but I've also been caught off guard by people's recommendations.

When staff changes were announced last year, my colleague was gushing over their school accountant who was being transferred to my school, saying how sad she was that he was leaving and he was such a great guy, so funny, fantastic English, "You'll love him!" etc. etc. So I was getting excited since I got along well with the guy who left. But when he got here, he was not what I was expecting. He gave off creepy vibes and forced me to engage in painfully awkward conversations. He'd approach me randomly and tell me about how he drank so much the night before that he passed out and has no memory, or ramble about how he really should stop drinking since his liver is probably beyond repair. (WHY DO YOU TELL ME THESE THINGS??? ) We get along better now that he's stopped talking to me unprovoked about his drinking habits, but I still don't see any of the things she saw in him.

On the flip side, people warned me over and over again at my university about the one and only Japanese history professor. Everyone hated her, thought she was terrible, and her class was absurdly hard and not worth taking. "Avoid at all costs!" etc. etc. But I was pleasantly surprised when I took her class. It was true that she was an extremely demanding professor and accepted nothing less than your best work, but I found her dry wit really entertaining so I actually enjoyed her classes. I ended up taking another class with her my final year and she reviewed my term paper for graduation. She was strict as hell, gave me only an A- even though I set the curve for every exam, and she had few words of praise for my paper when she was forced to make a comment to my department head, but dammit I liked her anyway.

@Cherry: The person who recommended her is also in the industry - an informational interview contact I got through my Board Member mentor. She's a collection manager at one of the campus' museums.

@Ferra: What the heck. Does the regaling of you with drunken stories count as humor in her book?