Sunshine lollipops and work

Today has been one of the few days this winter we've had snow. Anyone asking for proof of global warming should try our ski hill, then any of the newly opening ones in Florida. While the snow may seem bad, there is some good news; it's also sunny, and sunny days are some of the few when I'm able to make myself get things I've been putting off done. It has something to do with psychology, but the only part that I care about is that on sunny days, I feel good enough to make myself get things done.

So, first off was getting a letter written to my Japanese friends and families. My Japanese isn't good enough to write one for each, so I'm writing one and making slight variations on it. I'm also still trying to get certain addresses and I'm sending a late new year's cards with them (new year's day is the Christmas of Japan).

Next on the list is the blog.

So, what have I been up to recently? Well, I've been procrastinating a lot. I've updated my computer to Windows 7 (better and faster than XP), I've gotten some books I'm now reading, school is boring as ever, I have exams on the week of my birthday and staff party, and I'm STILL working on my applications.

So, computer first. I've updated it, I've re-installed most of the programs I use (still waiting on Adobe CS4), I'll be backing my files up soon, my computer still looks like Frankenstein's creation and due to how old my graphics card is, my screen is stretched by sixteen percent (which isn't too bad, but it's annoying).

My sister also gave me her laptop. She was told it was broken and would take about six-hundred dollars to fix. I took it apart and found that it was some small piece that runs the backlight that broke, which costs about fifty dollars to replace. It's mine anyways and she has a new one. (I could also not repair it and just always work with a light behind the screen, but it would have to be a very bright light, even a portable floodlight still left it a bit dark.)

Christmas went well. I got some gaming stuff from my brother, a few random things, calendars, money for books, a free pass to see Avatar (it was awesome), soap and not much else. This Christmas it was our parents who got most of the gifts, though granted, we got a free trip to Quebec to go skiing and drinking. And this year I got my grandmother a puzzle made from a panorama I took of Nagasaki. The family completed it together and I had some nice conversations while them while doing so.

Oh, and the more later I was talking about in the previous entry was that my sister's boyfriend was flown out to Quebec in secret, we brought him to the hotel we were staying at and he surprised my sister and proposed to her. She accepted.

I also got a lot done on my applications. I have tips on what to write for all the personality and problem solving questions, and all that's left is for me to actually write that up and figure out a few technical things.

The books I bought with the money were Orson Scott Card's Ender in Exile and something from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. The former is a well thought out science fiction book about the human race moving out to the stars. I love the series and I only have a few problems with it, first, that so many characters are absolute geniuses, their abilities and understanding are sometimes a bit far out, and second, the constant talk of reproduction (I don't have a problem with sex or families, hell, I really like The Time Traveller's wife and that's full of it, but Orson Scott Card writes specifically about "producing babies," and every character has the same opinion and treats the subject the same way). As for the latter, it's a fun and clever read about a comical fantasy world.

Recently I've given up on the piano, not for lack of skill but for lack of time. I like hearing it, I love playing it, but I just don't have the time to dedicate to it. That, and I'm cutting down on video gaming. I like playing hardcore games and I keep up with the industry, but I play less than any casual gamer.

Friends are strange things. People say other people are their friends, classmates, coworkers, friends of friends, some friends "tolerate" others, some hate others, some secretly love others and some don't even know if they're friends. Coming back to Nova Scotia, I've had a hard time finding out who is what, especially in school. There are some people who I might call friends, but whom with age is an issue (I'm three years older than them). There are people I see in class everyday and talk to, but might not call a friend outside of school (classmates). Coworkers are easy enough to define. There are the friends I had who are still here, and some who only visit occasionally, I call them all friends, but I think of what it will be like when I am far away. Then there are people I know and am getting to know at school who are on the edge, but I don't quite know. And then there's the fact that this is the last year here, and while it is essential to have friends in high school, I'll have to break all (or at least most of) these bonds when I leave and can't afford to have any too strong to break.

On an entirely different note, while I'm not working at the restaurant much these days, my father is planning to use me out at the house he's building (I'm not sure if I've mentioned it, tell me if I haven't because it's kind of a big thing right now).