January 2, 2013

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  2013- with a little help from my friends

   Happy New Year!

  I'm back to work (and blogging) after a nice winter week in Pennsylvania.  The break was a little quieter and a little more boring than usual.  I didn't really have a car and the weather was so bad I didn't really want to go any where anyhow.  Plus, mom was still in the hospital the whole time, so it was just my brother and I hanging out at home, unless he was at work...

  BUT, I finally got my snow wish for snowshoeing!  I went out on my own, but the best is when my dad and I hit the trails.  He had some old-school snowshoes:

  

  

  

  The winter scenery was great:

  

  The family farm

  

   

    Some instagram action in the backyard... I am loving this iphone more and more

  I got to hang out with my beloved cousins and aunt as always too-which was great.  My aunt always organizes a party for all the neighborhood family friends I grew up with when I am home (she is awesome and I am lucky). 

    My cousins and their boyfriends were all making slushies out of the snow outside, so I did the same   Then we ate and hung out by the fire playing cards all night watching the snow fall.  It was great.

  I made my big career change announcement to my family while I was there, which was fun-- it was nice to have some good and exciting news to talk about with everyone.  I studied my airport code flashcards a lot!  I'm pretty sure my brother knows them all now too

  Speaking of my brother-- he got me the BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER--which is saying a lot because I got some great stuff (and money, thank GOD)

  A Mandolin!!!  He sent it to Florida, so yesterday was my first chance to use it.  I am kind of pathetic because I know NOTHING.  Luckily my roommate's sister is staying with us and she showed me how to tune it.  Thanks to the little booklet that came with it and youtube, I am learning and practicing my chords.  OMG OMG OMG Awesome.  Thanks to him I have all the accessories too--extra picks, a tuner, extra strings, a stand and a leather strap.  2013 is the year I will learn the mandolin.

  Before I left, I saw some Christmas lights with my roommate and took Kyohei out for his traditional birthday dinner.  I found a French restaurant this time and it was SUPER (nailed it!)

   

  On the way home from Pennsylvania it almost looked like I was going to have to sleep in the Charlotte Airport, but I ran to my terminal and JUST made it on the plane.  Lucky thing was my checked bag made it too-- unbe-freakin-lievable!  A New Year's miracle!  I'm very proud of USAiways, my future company.

  The T-Rex in the Pittsburgh airport-- because that is just how Western PA rolls

  AND to ring in the new year I saw Django Unchained yesterday:  AWESOME

   

  Finally!  I could enjoy all the violence, great storyline and fantastic soundtrack of a Tarantino film without the usual graphic rape scene to ruin it all and mess me up emotionally!  LOVED IT!  You really killed it this time, Quentin.

  RESOLUTIONS!

  1. Learn at least 10 songs on the mandolin

  2. Really do my best at flight attendant training-- be #1 (on the job too)

  3. Visit at least 5 long-distance friends (hopefully this includes meeting a couple xanga besties, you know who you are)

  4. Read a book in Turkish

  5. Watch a sunrise with someone who is amazing

  This is going to be a big year, one way or another.  It might be better if it weren't my dreaded [dum dum dum!!] YAKUDOSHI!! 

  From Encyclopedia of Shinto 

  Yakudoshi

  An "age of calamity" at which a person is liable to suffer misfortune or illness, generally referring to the ages of 25 and 42 for men or of 19 and 33 for women. In particular, the ages of 42 for men and 33 for women are called "major calamity" (taiyaku), with the preceding year called maeyaku and the following year called atoyaku orhaneyaku.

  
  Yes, yes, I'm only going be 32 this month, but you forget that in Asia a baby starts at year 1-- so technically this IS my 33rd year.  I can confidently say that this past year was a year of a little calamity.  So... I'm actually a bit afraid of this coming year.  Not to sound even more flaky than I do already--but my western horoscope (Aquarius) already predicts a year of upheaval.  I'm not sure how much more upheaval I can handle. 
  Luckily I got a yakudoshi omamori (amulet for protection during your calamity year) from Tsubaki Shrine.  I'm not taking any chances.  Let's NOT have a major calamity
  

  • 12:46 pm
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