I got a letter!!!

*dances* I gotta letter I gotta letter I gotta letter hey hey hey hey! -name that mooovie!!- <3



So I got a cute little letter from Jekka!! And some cute little pictures as you can see from above. Those pictures are actually about 1/2 of an inch big! Crazy huh? So cute though! She sends her love and says that Japan is great! It was slow at first but Kawano Shimai and her are starting to find more people! The apartments are small, but cozy. They don't have an oven, (*gasp*) but thank goodness they have a toaster oven! Wow, no oven.... I'd go crazy! I love to cook... She says that Futons are comfortable and so easy to store! Silly Jekka. She says that the picures are called Purikuri. It's like those little photo booths that they have here in america except much cooler and a little more expensive, but worth it! (400¥ = $4.00) You can draw on them as you can see from above. She leaves a note to all her minions: Be good and drink lots of water, she loves us and we're "so pimp" which is her new word... Apparently it's her companion's favorite word. That and freaking. lol Cutie.

ok so letters... it figures that I get a letter just as I sent one out yesterday inquiring where my letters are from her. Anyone else heard from the loverly Jekka? Anyways, the addresses I have are correct and all you need to do is write out the address on the letter as such. The only requirement is to please do not write in all captial letters. They prefer lowercase. I sent both Chris and Jekka a letter and it cost me less than $2.00 at the post office! So it's real cheap. I was expecting at least $5. >.< Welps... I'm going to head out I just wanted to post really quick. Check out the awesome business card! That's so nifty. It has her home address on the left but I cut it out. Also, no calling her unless you want a full discussion on the gospel. Besides, I don't know if it would work anyway. ^_^ So cool! I love the little symbols, japanese has pretty pictures.

Miracles!

Updates updates updates!!!

Chris Choro San is first up (I know this is Jekka's blog, but he's her sister!!)
Rain and temperatures are falling in Toyooka and waking up early is definitely not his thing. (HA HA!) After some spiritual insight, him and his companion went over to a little neighborhood by the oceanside and had a wonderful time with two potential investigators. Hopefully the baptisms will grow and the people won't mind cold water. The church building doesn't have a font, so baptisms take place right in the ocean! He and his companion are making great progress and hope to have a baptism soon. According to records, there hasn't been a baptism for over a year! So I hope they have luck there.

Jekka Shimai San!!
Important "fyi" if you ever find yourself in Japan... Sunglasses are looked down upon there. It gives the impression of "you're up to no good and you're a hoodlum". So don't wear them. Course from foreigners, they are more lenient, but people are more willing to speak to you if they can see your eyes.

With this in mind, Jekka had miracle! And it's best if she explains, so I will let her do the talking....
"So, we were challenged by one of the other Chourou in Tokyo to get 40 conversations in one day. Normally, we are supposed to get 10. A conversation is where you share a
brief principle, testify, and then invite the person to come to church. If possible, you try to set up an appointment to have them come to church or have a lesson (that is called a contact). Well, we took him up on that and ganbatti (did our best) the next day. We did it! We didn't get any contacts, but we had forty conversations. It was amazing, and what was more was that I had been feeling a little homesick but as soon as I was stopping people and talking to them, I forgot about it and became focused on the work. It was awesome. I wanted to talk to people. It was fun stopping people. When someone said 'kekkou desu' (no thank you) I bid them a good day and sought out my next victim. Really, I became a missionary on a mission. I learned why these eighteen months are called a mission. It really was a mission. A mission to stop people and find that elect that God has been preparing. Since we've been trying to have forty conversations, we've had a lot more contacts and people say that they want to come to church. It's been awesome.

"So, with that in mind, here's the miracle. Last night, we had finished with a lesson and we had two different routes we could take to get home: the one we took that day or another one that went by a member's house. Kawano Shimai asked me what I thought, and I said the way past the members house, but I wasn't sure. She thought differently so we pedaled a little ways and stopped by a hotel to say a quick prayer. As I was pedaling, I had the thought to go today's way but I was still unsure. Kawano shimai said the prayer, and as she prayed I could only think of the way we had come today. Afterwards, I told her that. She agreed, and we took off. We stopped at a combini (convenience store) to use a toilet and buy a few snacks, and because it was really late we decided to only stop young people. Well, we stopped some Philippine girls heading off to work and gave them chirashi's. After them, there was no one. No one whatsoever (except for danseitachi but we are only supposed to stop joseitachi-women). We started praying for one person. Just one person to talk to. Well, we got to the turn off for our apartment but had to wait because it was a *don't walk* light. On a bike next to us was a girl reading a text on her cell phone. Well, I said 'konbanwa' (Good Evening) to her and she replied with 'good evening'. I was surprised and asked if she spoke some English. She said she did, but only a little so Kawano Shimai started talking to her. We found out that she goes to a christian school and so we told her about our church. Then, Kawano Shimai decided to take a leaf out of Bertagnole Shimai's book (a something she had learned from our last recent exchange) and asked her if she would like to come to church on Sunday. She said she wanted to, so we set an appointment to meet her at 10:00 on Sunday and got her phone. It was great! It was awesome! Had we gone the other way, we would have ridden past her, AND if there were people for us to talk to, we wouldn't have talked to her! Honto ni, Kamisama wa inori wo kotaete kudasaimasu yo! Honto! It's awesome! God is amazing! It was great!"

Jekka has now visited the tallest tower in Japan, the Landmark Tower. Standing 296 meters, it holds offices, a hotel, restaurants, a shopping center and other community space. Apparently you can see Fujisama from the tower, but Jekka couldn't tell cause it was so hazy up there.

She's gotten her bike finally to which she plans on taking a picture of. She would like if possible people to write her letters. There are addresses in the previous post and I'm pretty sure that's how you write it... I'm going to check tomorrow with a friend in the branch who served his mission in Japan as well. I'll also be checking on a few words in here that I'm not sure of the meaning and freetranslation sucks when it comes to Romanji. -.- Dumb. Well, until next time! Write Jekka and Chris!! Any HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Jones Shimai

"Man, this computer is weird! Holy cow! I keep hitting a key that makes it into Japanese so everything goes all weird, but I'll manage somehow.

So, yes, I am alive. And It's going great. Well, mainly riding our bikes around and knocking on doors because we don't have any progressing investigators so far. We did teach three Chinese college students on Monday and we'll most likely see them tonight at Eikaiwa (English class) and may try to set up another appointment so we can teach them some more. Also, two days ago while we were tracting, we stopped a Korean girl and we got talking with her (Well, Sister Kawano, I just stood there and interjected with my limited Nihongo). The conversation got really intense to the point where Kawano Shimai was teaching the first lesson, the restoration, and I was whipping out pictures of Joseph Smith and President Monson. It was awesome. We also gave her a Book of Mormon and I'm really hoping that she'll call us sometime and come with us to general conference this Sunday. I really hope she does. It was so cool and so exciting. so, yeah, on your part, please pray for her! Her name is Aki San (she's from Korea).

So, other than experiencing riding my bike in the rain, eating REAL Ramen, Octopus and killing my first gokiburi (cockroach) it's been going good. It really has been an interesting experience. NO, I'm not fluent yet. Far from it actually, but yesterday was a really fruitful day in that I stopped a lot of people and I talked to a few people today. I find that especially when tracting I get more and more confident with stopping and talking to people. But, I have far to go. My current goal is to try to have somewhat of a conversation even if I don't get around to the gospel. I just need to talk to people.



A quick spiritual thing: because Kawano Shimai is trying to learn English, she passes off the lessons to me. well, yesterday she did lesson three which is the gospel of Jesus Christ and she shared a couple scriptures about faith and that was when it really hit me of what faith really is. It's seeing with your heart rather than your eyes. This statement makes a lot of sense when you think about why some people don't think there's a God. How can you believe in something you can't see? So, with that in mind, faith is seeing with your heart. When you feel warm inside, that's your heart catching a little glimpse of what God is like. It was a very insightful thing to me.

So, my companion. You probably want to know more about her. She's so freaking awesome!!! She's so pimp! I say it that way because freaking and pimp are her favorite words. She says them all the time and it's so funny. She'll be practicing teaching a lesson and she'll say, I want to share a freaking good scripture. It's so funny! She's so awesome and she loves taking pictures. Yeah, it's great fun.



It really is hard to say how missionary work feels. It doesn't feel very strenuous right not but I can expect it will be. My current frustration is that I want to talk to people but I get only so far and then I don't know how to say anymore. Yeah, I need to just talk and slaughter the language but I'm trying. And one thing that holds me back is that they are so polite and I don't want to offend them. Even though I'm a gaigokujin (foreigner) and can get away with it, I don't want to. Especially in Yamate where there's an international school and so gaigokujin's are somewhat of a common sight. But, I'll keep trying! Don't worry! And I'll try to keep you posted on more things that are going on. Hopefully this next week we'll be able to teach more lessons and get some people to come to church. That would be very nice. So, I'll keep you posted.

Conference is this week due to translation, but I'll still be able to watch it in English. So that's nice.

Until next week, I love you all! So, yeah, that's about all! I love you! The church is true and we can all do a little something to become more like Christ and make the world a better place! Love you!

Jekka Jones/Ba-da-bug!"





CONCERNING ADDRESSES:
If you'd like to write to Jones Choro Chris, his address is as below-
Japan Kobe Mission
4-6-28 Shinohara-Honmachi Nada-Ku
Kobe-Shi, Hyogo 657-0067
Japan

As for Jones Shimai Jekka-
Japan Tokyo Mission
4-25-12 Nishi Ochiai
Shinjiku-ku
Tokyo-to 161-0031
Japan

Jones Choro

From the Chrisser Bear himself:

"I am in Japan now using a computer in the city hall. It is the only computer in Toyooka that has a computer with accessible internet to the public. We are lucky to have email because ldsmail is the only thing that works. Soshite, Toyooka is a small rural town in the Kyoto region on the other side of the coast from Kobe.



I got to Japan, crashed from jet lag, woke up at 5:45, and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with our Mission President and mom. She is an awesome cook and they are really, really neat. We stayed there for two days receiving a lot of training. Then we got our trainers. My new companion is named Kunihiro Choro, he is from Fukuoka and is a Nihonjin. He speaks rough English so there is a communication barrier, but he is still an incredible person. He is diligent in his work and knows the area very well.

Toyooka is very fun, we`re working very hard. My bike comes in tomorrow and will cost about 40,000 yen. that`s about 400$. So here bikes are a little expensive because of the rurual area, the main area of Toyooka has only about 90,000 people here. Our branch is very small, there are only 30 people in the ward and all are super amazing, they are so happy and their faith is so so strong. We have two investigators right now, Yamaguchi san and Oike san. We plan to atleast baptize Yamaguchi san by the end of this transfer. This may be a little challenging because she is having a lot of family problems, but God will help her.

Kunihiro choro is an awesome companion, I`ve learned so much Japanese from him because that`s really all I can speak to get my point across to him. There are four of us here in Toyooka, and when we introduced our selves to the members they were so excited to have four missionaries in the area, it`s the first time they ever had this many missionaries here in Toyooka. Of the four of us I`m the only one who doesn`t know Japanese at all, but that`s alright, I can slowly hear the Japanese make sense, I can get the rough meaning out of the conversations. Like yesterday, Kunihiro taught this woman that we housed and taught her the whole first lesson and a bit of the second. That was really cool because at first she wasn`t interested but as we talked the spirit practically punched her in the stomach. If she shows up to Eikaiwa (English lessons) tonight I think we`ll have a new investigator and maybe a baptism she was that interested.

Toyooka is wonderful, its nestled in the mountains with plenty of rice fields and a major river flowing through called Murayama. This place is so wonderful, I love Japan so much and the work is so hard but so much fun. We get kindly rejected everyday, but occasionally we`ll find someone who will listen to our message and we pray that they`ll listen to more. We have to dig to find those few elect individuals, and some times it takes some witty words, but it`s still a wonderful challenge. I have no idea what people are saying, but when I speak I try to give it power because I know I`m slaughtering the language. This place is wonderful, not only is the food delicious but the people are so nice and the kids, who don`t know who we are, scream and run up to their parents saying something about a special gaijin is here (gaijin is foreigner). Sometimes I catch a lot of peoples attention. I apologize if this is terrible typing, I`m still trying to adjust to the keyboards here.

The adventures have been great, right now I`m using an old missionaries bike until I get mine tomorrow that this falling apart mile by mile. Japan is so wonderful, my companion is a pro cook, and there are so many wonders here. If only I could bring people these lessons, they all hide behind several different reasons the two most common are that they are Buddhist and busy. Most of the people probably don`t even know what they worship through Buddhism, but that`s what they say when they don`t want to hear the message. The one girl that we talked to yesterday and placed a book of Mormon and two lesson pamphlets started with that, "Oh I`m Buddhist, not interested", but I replied "That`s okay, because this message is for anyone, it does not matter what you believe, it`ll make you happy" (remind you it was in very, very, very broken Japanese. When she asked me how long I`d been studying I told her two and a half months and she freaked out. When she found out that I was only 19 she was even more astonished, then she was willing to let Kunihiro teach her. Somehow, I have good hopes in this lady.

Well, family, I love you very, very much but I don`t have time to saunter around in daydreams of America so I`ll send a letter telling a few more stories if I have time today because I really want to take a nap. I`m exhausted. P-Days are great no? Anyways, my companion is sleeping on the seat next to me so I better wake him and go. The work is great, challenging, but worth it when you see the Japanese smile. These people are so nice, sometime getting politely rejected is a little let down. I hope some old man chases me through a forest or something so that I can get the "missionary rejected experience". Well, be very careful in your works, tell mike to be good that he`s doing the right thing because this work is wonderful.

Have a Good Day, love your Toyooka faring missionary.

Christopher Michael Jones Choro"

On the way to Nihon!

So Jekka is doing well and staying way out of the way of being a 10 on the "Girly Scale" not wearing any make up or anything. That's always a good thing. :) Silly girl. She's got some pictures, but is unable to develop them until she gets to Japan, so we'll just have to wait patiently. Chris Choro is doing well, but is starting to get anxious about going to Japan!! He's started giving empty study classrooms names and different people a pokemon name that is equivalent to their personality... Oi! This is the last week before they head out!! So if you do end up sending letters, the letters will need to be addressed differently from their MTC address! I don't know Chris' yet, but I know Jekka's! Be sure to send her letters at this address:

Sister Jessica Catherine Jones
Japan Tokyo Mission
4-25-12 Nishi Ochiai
Shinjiku-ku
Tokyo-to 161-0031 Japan

I know there are a lot of words in there you probably don't know what is going on, but that's what needs to go on the front of the letter!! Also, your best bet if you want to get the letter directly to Japan is to go down to the post office and let them stamp it. It could be from $1 to possibly $6 depending on the size of the letter/package. I'm sure we'll all figure out something right?! The only request that Jekka's made is that we do not write to her saying "Only x-many days left!!". You may count down the days if you wish, but she'd rather not know being it will just distract her. Also if you could send pictures, she would love to receive pictures especially if you have some from the Narrows or the Subway.

Speaking of words, I've written out some Katakana for everyone to have fun with!!! Hope it's readable. I've been having fun figuring out a few words. Have a specific word you want to know? I can totally get it for you with my new software that I downloaded without Mastah's permission. >.>



Story time!!!
So, as I was saying, Chris has started giving names to study rooms such as; The Bat Cave, The Abyss, the Celestial Kingdom (has a window with a view of the temple), the Lone Isles, The Temple of Doom and Valley Forge... Well, one day Glenn Shimai and Jekka are studying in the Bat Cave which is connected to the Abyss by a window, to which has doors you can shut over the window. Example:



SO, when both classroom lights are on, you can see into each room. When the lights are off, you can't see anything from the other room. While Jekka and Glenn Shimai were studying, Glenn thought she heard a knock, so she goes to open the door. Seeing nothing, she closed the door and went back to work. She thinks she heard it again, so she opens the window door again, and puts her face to the glass trying to see into the dark room when BAM! someone slammed their body against the glass. It scared Glenn Shimai so bad Jekka thought she had a heart attack. The people in The Abyss turned on the light to reveal Dean and Fryer Choro laughing their heads off. Silly boys.

As for Chris, his story is that he had a dream that some kid stole a song he made up and he said he could because it wasn't copyrighted and the kid sucked at playing it. That's chis for ya...

Well, that's it for now! Until next letter from Japan, there won't be much posting! Keep in touch though and be sure to write Jekka and as soon as I get Chris' address, him too!!

1 and a half weeks left!!!!

SO! I apologize for not updating sooner, things around here have been busy and I got over powered and blew a fuse, so by the time Mastah fixed me back up again, I had things going everywhere piled up to do and I feel like a non stop house keeper! ;)

You see right though! Only a week and a 1/2 before our beloved Jekka goes off to Japan with Chris and the rest of the mission crew! She's sent me a few pictures of her mission group and I'll post them at the end of the blog. If you have pictures that you'd like to post from Jekka, paintingpixies@mac.com is where you should send them!! We'll get them posted for ya!!

There were originally only three sisters going to Japan, but now there are two more in the group who aren't in the pictures!

Sister McIntire is half Japanese and so she grew up in Tokyo for a bit before moving to the US for a few more years before going back to attend High School there. Her dad is the mission president of Kobe. She came to the MTC to learn the gospel doctrine in English and learn how to teach. Since she's already fluent in Japanese, she'll leave with Jekka and the others.

Campos Shimai is from Las Vegas and is also going to japan. We don't know much about her other than she is a skinny little bean pole and has a missionary friend in Minnesota whom she is writing.

Sister Shipp is from Salt Lake City and was a friend with one of the teachers. She's headed to Tokyo with Jekka! She spent a semester at BYU Jerusalem for a while as well and loved it!

So those are the new sisters that Jekka is getting along with so well. Jekka also had a rather Girly Girl moment taking the time to go to a Make up class!!! Can you believe that? Oh how Jenni will have a fit about that. Jekka's companion Betagnole Shimai apparently from the experience made a scale of girly girl-ness for those of you who didn't know how girly girl you are:

On a scale from 1-10... 10 being the girliest one could ever be. Changing clothing outfits at least 3 times a day by doing so also changing make up and hair. Everytime a girly girl comes across a mirror she has to stop, examine and fix hair and clothes reapplying make up. This girly girl also has a boyfriend or wants one so bad she goes out of her way to find one. When around boys they are flirty giggly, and "playful" hitting the guys arms at a passing joke. They had the outdoors with a passion afraid to get wet or dirty.

Then there's the complete opposite. These girls only buy boy clothing and wear them, even to the extent of boxers. They never wear make up and they don't care how they look. They like the outdoors and thrive on intense physical activities. Basically full core Tom Boy. Their only acknowledgment to their gender would be using the woman's restroom.

Chris and Jekka laughed at this and have come to the conclusion that Jekka is a 3 and if she ever went past a 5 he would have to take measures (I'm sure Jenni would too) to correct her personality. Jessica promised that she would always remain faithful to a 3 maybe just touching the 4 while she's on her mission, but thrives on being a 3. However, I think that someday Mastah Tori and I will have a bit of fun making her a 5 one day.... maybe higher. :) *evil grin*

In Jekka's classroom they have a new edition to the family. A gnome. That's right, a gnome. There is no name for this gnome yet, but I'm sure one will soon arise before they depart for Japan. A few new words from both Chris and Jekka will be posted up in the Japanese word column soon. She and Chris should be getting their flight plans soon as well so we will expect that as soon as possible! Keep us posted. I promise to update more often! Sorry for the dely in posting!! Next letter I will post a picture of some Katakana as well with Romani. :) Then you'll know some Japanese!


From left to right. Of course, Jekka in her pretty blue shirt. Then Sister Bertagnole and Sister Glenn on the far right.


At the World Map in the Main building trying to point to Japan.
Sendai - Hamzawi Choro, Stewart Choro, and Dobutsu
Tokyo - Jekka, Dean Choro, Fryer Choro and Bertagnole Shimai
Kobe - Glenn shimai, Burton Choro, Shepley Choro and Chris


Her District (27 B) at the Provo Temple on P-Day


from left to right: Burton, Fryer, Shepley, Peterson (aka dobutsu), Chris, Hamzawi, Fryer and Stewart Chorotachi.

Genki Genki!

Jones Shimai and Choro are doing great spiritually especially! The language is coming along great and soon they'll have to start teaching the lessons in Japanese only! They've only been in the MTC for 4 weeks, but it feels like they've been there for months already!! I have mailed her two letters, one in response to her letter I received and another when I got back from the Asian market and bought some Japanese candy and asked her what it was called. I also asked Jekka for some Katakana and when I get the letter, I'll be sure to post some katakana. Both Chris and Jekka are really missing the outdoors, so maybe I'll send her some hiking pictures, but however, I think being in Memphis, it won't do much good.... So hey! All you who live in Utah, send her pictures of the wondrous outdoors!! Maybe I'll send her a jar of dirt....or soak her letter in the river before sending it. ^_^ Put a leaf within the letter, just a few ideas for ya. Be sure to check out the Japanese list!! I've been adding words onto it with each new letter and e-mail I get! So check it out and maybe you can understand what they're all saying. I know I'm having a blast! I'll be well educated next time I go to an Anime convention. lol Geek=me. Well, as Jekka says, Kono kyoukai wa shinjitsu desu yo! fukuin wa shinjitsu desu yo! (Does anyone think they know what this means.... *goes to freetranslation.com*)

Random pictures!!

Little Changes

I received both e-mails from Jekka and Chris, and they're both learning the language (Nihongo) very well. They have both been receiving massive ammounts of e-mails at dearelder.com and they thank you. The enjoy the e-mails and will try to write back, but sometimes they really don't have the time to write to anyone, but family.

New words you maybe didn't know:
Kawaii - Cute
Kowai - Scary
Anata no kawaii desu - You're cute!
Anata no kawaii - Informal way of saying "You're cute"

Already I am causing mayhem to the blog as I change a word list into a Japanese list for all to know the words. So instead of posting new blogs everytime I see a new word, I'll just update the list on the right. As you can see, I've also changed a few things on the side bar. DON'T WORRY I DIDN'T LOSE IT! I'm not an irresponsible minion (sometimes) and I've filed it away in my programming for a later day when Jekka wishes to have it back. For now I will keep these files hidden from the Mastah, but hopefully she won't reprogram me.... >.>

Other than that no really new news right now. I'm sure that a letter will come soon or something. The posts will most likely slow down also when October comes around being that they will probably be busy with everything. ^_^ So until another new word comes around, Ja ne!

Goats

I just received a letter on the how to goats were doing! So I thought I would update again....

Jekka doesn't get to see the goats much really. Right now they are just in the room where the only time she sees them is when she goes to bed. They haven't gotten into any trouble (Thank Heavens) and Rupert took a shower the other day in the bathroom sink! Yay! We're all so proud of him. Francis enjoys cleaning and has been keeping the place tidy or so he says. Jekka thinks he just lounges around, being lazy. Windston has memorized every word in Japanese from the Japanese-English dictionary and we think he is somehow miraculously fluent in Nihongo. She can't understand a word he is saying, but then again, having a goat speak Japanese can be rather difficult to understand.

Here are some new phrases!!!
Matsujitsu seito Iesu Kirisuto Kyokai - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Shimai - Sister Choro - Elder To make either of these plural add -tachi to the end of it. (Chorotachi and Shimaitachi)

So far, she can say prayers and bear her testimony in Japanese. She's learning how to have a conversation and though it's a little harder, she's working at it. She has two companions instead of just one and their little threesome are always together! How cute. So far that's all the news. Don't forget to send her some mail at dearelder.com

Be happy and don't let the platypus steal your apple!

First E-mail!

Well, Jekka can only e-mail her parents, but her mother was kind enough to e-mail me with some wonderful news! I believe Mastah received it as well? Anyways, she has already had her first P-day! As she says:

"Already, my douryou (companions) and I can teach Lesson 1: The Restoration comfortably, and on Thursday we have a teaching evaluation so we get to see how well our lessons plans are coming and what we can do to improve our lesson and ourselves. The gospel is true! Fukuin wa shinjitsu desu yo."

She's certainly learning the language because it's hard to follow sometimes with her engrish. XD Shimaitachi means sisters and chouroutachi means elders, I've learned that! Also fukuin means Gospel! That's the Japanese lesson for today!

She tells an amusing tale of when she was sitting with some of the other sisters from her district that one of the sisters was shocked that the elders did not stand up when they approached the table to sit, get their glasses of milk, open the doors for them, etc. and was so flabberghasted that she went to the Elders and chewed them out for not being "respectful" like so. Then Jekka got the guts to go stand and apologize for what the other sister had said and that it was uncalled for! (Go Jess!!) She said that she and her other sisters didn't feel like they should be treated as they are delicate saying that they appreciate them already and love them for who they are, that treating them like such would only make them embarrassed. She's awesome to do that!!

After this however, the Elders started to joke around with the sisters and after going to get a drink, two of the elders got on their knees and started bowing saying "Oh wonderful Shimai! You are so wonderful!" (Sounds like she made quite the impression! lol) Then just the other day Jones Chourou (CB) interrupted her and said, "Wait Jones shimai, let me get you a glass of milk!" Of course, being that it was CB, Jekka almost wailed on him saying, "Sit down you little punk!" However, being a missionary now, she stopped short of 'punk'.

Jekka's note to everyone is:
"dearelder.com is a great place to send letters. It's free and it's same-day delivery. All my tomodachi (friends) should give it a shot. . .hint hint *wink wink*"

That's all for the update right now!! I hope to hear more from her again soon!! Keep in touch with her and I'm sure we'll hear more!

"I love you all, and I hope you are staying strong and true to the beliefs you have. I know this church is true and God loves each and every one of us. I look forward to learning more and growing. I have grown so much in five days and I know I will grow more as God helps me learn nihongo and fukuin (japanese. . .gospel). I love you all. Take care!

You're insane and bonkers child,
Jones Shimai (Jekka!)

MUAH HA HA HA HA!!!!

FEAR ME ALL!!! FOR I AM THE MECHANIAL ANDROID NUISANCE DETECTOR AND INFILTRATOR! I HAVE COME TO TAKE OVER THE JEKKA'S BLOG!!! HA HA HA HA HA!!! (Don't tell Mastah, it's a secret! >.<) FEAR ME!!... are you scared yet? You should be! Be scared!... Now!

I don't think you're scared enough... Oh well, it's not as fun without Jekka... I hope I can make up in humor for what I lack in random for this blog.

I have received your e-mails and will be writing Jekka a short start letter with everyone's addresses. You should receive and e-mail from me later, letting you know that I have written them down in the letter. Feel free to still send addresses if you want an occasional letter to the Jekka Bug. She wants addresses!!! In the meanwhile, feel free to write her as well!!! I have her MTC ADDRESS!

Sister Jessica Catherine Jones (be sure to put her first name and last, middle is optional)
MTC mailbox #160
JPN-TOK 0930
2005 N 900 E
Provo, Utah 84604 1793

I also have another address, one whom would love to hear from you too!!

Elder Christopher Jones
MTC mailbox #160
JPN-KOB 0929
2005 N 900 E
Provo, Utah 84604 1793

That's it for now, I'm still trying to get things organized back at home from my visit. For now, enjoy some pictures and if there's anything you'd like for me to post in a letter, or an address you want to send, e-mail me at paintingpixies@mac.com!

Bon Voyage

I am off. Tomorrow is the big day. At 12:00 noon Chris and I enter the Mother's Torture Chamber, commonly known as the Missionary Torture Center, but formally known as the Missionary Training Center. There, we will study scriptures and the Japanese Language. There, I will study and train until October 1 of which I will hop on an airplane and journey to Japan.

So, about my dear blog. It will not be shut down, or dismantled, or removed from the world wide web. Au contrare, the Mechanical Android Nuisance (Mastah, we changed it. Is that okay?) Detector and Infiltrator (the minions made me do it), also known as MANDI for short, is going to post my happenings. I will be writing her and sending her pictures at least once a month. I will write little letters to people, thanking them for their letters they wrote to me, but it will go to Mandi in one big bulk letter. Unless I decide to throw everyone off *evil cackle* by writing them back!

Still, I want addresses so send your address to MANDI at paintingpixies@mac.com unless otherwise notified (like my mass email. . .). It will make me most happy.

Her website is also one of the links in the side panel, as well as her blog.

I won't be here until October, I will send Mandi my MTC address once I get it, but after October letters will be received here:

Sister Jessica Catherine Jones
Japan Tokyo Mission
4-25-12 Nishi Ochiai
Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo-to,
161-0031

So, yeah, that's the scoop. Aaaand, yes, my Goaties are traveling with me. They are most excited and will help me retain my insanity for the two and a half months that I'll be in the MTC. I'm also taking peanut butter. YUM!! You can take the Jekka out of the weird, but you can't take the weird out of the Jekka!

Well, that's all for now. As tribute to everyone. . . .Mandihasbrushedandplayedwithmyhair. . . AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

*goats dive for cover*

In Which a House Has Many Ways

I love Howl. :D

And the countdown has actually gotten to a small, manageable number: four days.

That's kinda freaky and a little exciting. I report to the MTC in four days, where I will study both the scriptures and the Japanese language before wandering off to Japan.

Wow. It's actually happening! Luckily my story's finished so I won't have that constantly on my mind.

Er, yeah, that's about all.

I love Howl. :D

LA LA LA LA LA

LA LA LA LA LA

Mandi's song!

LA LA LA LA LA

Mandi's song!

She likes the music

She likes the words

THAAAAT'S MAAANDI'S SOOOOOONG!!

:D

And on that note, I recently bought Diana Wynne Jones' newest book: House of Many Ways which so happens to be a sequel to Howl's Moving Castle. Yesh, I am most excited to read it.

Four days and eight hours left

Yeah, that's right! Four days left! Four! You heard me! FOUR!!

What do you say to that huh? HUH? What do you say to that you mean old tomato! I DON'T GET TO EAT YOU! HA! Because guess what!

I finished my story. Including the epilogue! Eight notebooks! It took me five years and three months to finish it but its done!!!

(Don't ask how many pages. Even I don't know that.)

So take that! And that! Aaaaand THAT! *pokes and kicks tomato* I'm done!

And I feel exactly how I feel after finishing a really good book. Only difference is that I know what I'm going to do next. I'm going to try to get as much typed up as I can before my mission. It's a shame my lappy went haywire. . .literally. But I'll try to commandeer Chris' or the laundry computer.

I just can't believe it! I'M FINISHED! The rough/first draft is out of the way!

*Francis hopes onto desk* Jekka, now that you're finished what are you going to do next?

*traps Francis in a jar* I am going to read. I'll start typing tomorrow.

Butterfly nets and faeries

I finally bought a butterfly net. Ever since Kayleigh and I saw them at Lin's I've been wanting one for no other reason than just to have it. Well, I was at Macey's yesterday with Mummy and Chris and I saw them there on sale for 69 cents. So, after much begging and firm explanation that I want it just to have it (a perfectly good explanation in my opinion) Mummy let me get one.

I love it! When I got home, I caught Midnight with it, or tried to. She ran away before I could do it. But I caught Peej. She gave me a funny look and tried to run away, but she only got more caught in the mesh. The silly kitty. But yeah, I have a butterfly net and it's cool.

Now that I have a butterfly net, and Zoie chan kindly reminded me that today is National Fairy Day, I'll go catch meself a fairy or two. I'll let them go, don't worry. I don't want to keep a fairy indoors overnight. They turn into ugly things.

I see the confusion on some of your faces. . .read Fablehaven.

Winston, put down that Thesaurus and come fairy hunting with me. Maybe we'll end up in Neverland!

*grabs net and runs off*

Polly wanna cracker!

What does the title have to do with anything? Absolutely nothing. Really. Nothing whatsoever. I'm just sitting around in the Doldrums, not really doing anything productive. Which is the best thing for anyone to do in my opinion.

Okay so I have been somewhat productive in the thinking sense. I finished the Phantom Tollbooth. So good! People should go and read it, right now. And I also read The Foundling by Lloyd Alexander, also way good. I enjoyed all the stories, with characters I knew or didn't know so well. My favorite was Kadwyr the Rascal Crow. And now I'm going to read Brave Deeds which is a book about my Oma and Opa Braal when they were part of the Dutch Underground Resistance in Holland during WWII. So, we'll see how that goes.

Yeah yeah, I'm still writing. In fact, I should probably stop doing nothing and get out of these Doldrums to do something. Fear not, I won't think too hard. That's painful stuff.

Come Rupert! To the car! And start thinking!

Tagged

*struggles with radio collar* NO! I won't be part of scientific research! No! No! Nonononononononono! Mononoke? :D

Well, Mastah tagged me, so some of you will be eager to know about my favorite authors and whatnot (see her blog) but guess what! I'M NOT TELLING YOU!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!

Why? Because I can! That's why! It's pure and simple! Tee hee!

Fraaaaancis! Oh, Francis! We must go and play with the side walk chalk! Why? Because it's fun! Let's go! *grabs goat by the horn*

"It's like exercise"

"When you don't do it for a long time, it's exhausting. But if you're always exercising then your not dead after doing it. Clothes shopping is exactly the same thing. You're exercising a part of your brain when it comes to colors and styles." That's what Dad said and boy was he right!

So, yesterday was clothes shopping for Missions, and I did not expect it to be so tiring! First we went to Mr. Mac where Chris got outfitted for suits and whatnot. I tried on a couple of nice, modest dresses they had there and ended up buying one. Other than that, I wasn't feeling stressed at all or anything like that.

And then we went to the Sister Missionary Mall.

Boy, was I tired. How do girls do that?! Seriously! After the first two blouses and skirts I was ready to be done, but the lady helping me just kept throwing in more and more blouses and skirts, vests and sweaters. Mom ended up staying in the dressing room with me to help me mix and match, which I am so grateful for. I was so confused. When I first walked in, the nice lady told me to look around and she would go ahead and pick some stuff out for me. Well, I looked around and found nothing of particular interest. So I just went into the dressing room.

Man, I was so tired. And we're not even done yet! Some of the clothes we bought are dry clean or hand wash only, so we have to take them back. And, due to the heat and humidity in Japan during the summer, I'd like to get one more skirt that's really light weight and made of cotton. I'll have six skirts!!! Six!!! I suppose that's alright, but aaaahhhh!!!

I have already made a sacrifice: My Tomboy-ness.

What's more, tomorrow we're going to go look around some other places with one of Mom's friends. She's an expert on mixing and matching (ideal for a mission: as little clothes as possible with a variety of combinations at the same time all able to be chucked into the washing machine or dryer) so she's going to really help us.

Two things I learned on this outing:


1-Look at the tags
2-Sister Missionary Mall is a good place but go to other places too

I will be happy when the shopping's done. :P Winston, what are you doing now? Get away from Peej, you're a toy to her. AH!

Kitten attacking goat, gotta go!

Rain!

This has been a good week. My "Astral" travels haven't been as entertaining as I would hope, but that may be because I have been very inquisitive in my dreams as of late. I think my dream self is getting more and more curious. I hope it's careful, curiosity is lethal.

Rain! :D

I've been doing very well on my goal for finishing my story. I've been writing two pages every day, and today I'm going to actually go all out and finish an event. An event being, well, an event that moves the story closer to completion. Keep this up, self, and I will finish before June 30! And I won't have to eat a tomato.

For those of you who don't know, I have until June 30, 2008 to finish my story. If I don't finish it by that time, then the result is the tomato consumption. *gasp* No one knows what the tomato consumption is? That's easy to explain, here's my definition of a tomato:

Tomato: A vile fruit that is fat and red and tastes disgusting. It is a vital ingredient for ketchup and spaghetti sauce (which is tasty), but alone, as a fruit, causes gagging, chocking, nasty aftertaste, vomiting, and in some cases death.

Does that answer any questions?

Rupert, go outside and take a shower now!

Bring forth the wine

Seriously, I got some wine for my 12th birthday!!! My Grandma and Grandpa gave it to me to celebrate the day that I am officially, cleverly disguised as an adult! Hooray! And what's more, I got The Foundling by Lloyd Alexander for my birthday too! I'm so happy!

Anywho, we got a new cat. A white one. She's two months old. Has a very light brown tail. And though we all agreed to call her Peej, which is jeep backwards, we still have our own names for the little white thingy. I call her Little One, Chris and Mike call her Clump, and Kaitlyn calls her the Poopsmith, and Dad nicknamed her Terdtail. Muffers likes her, and Midnight hates her.

Before we were just wading through fur, now we're swimming in it. *rolls eyes* Okay okay, I admit, the little thing is cute. Dad likes her. Yes, I like her. . . .She's tiny and fun to hold.

So, yeah, birthday was fun. Saturday we went out to eat at Sizzler's and though the Elvish Pirate Gypsy Minion Fiend could not attend (curse lesson-planning), Mastah did along with my dear childhood friend, Alice. That was fun. Yesterday, being my birthday, we had a big barbecue with lots of food and Grandma Curtis' to-die-for ribs. *mouth salivates* I love food too much.

I haven't tried the wine yet. I kinda want to, just to see what it's like. I'd rather try that than go and gamble. As much as I joke about it. Gambling is dumb. I mean, why stick money in slots or lose it to a card game when you can go and buy a book? Which reminds me. . .I want a trip to the book store. I have some birthday money to spend. . . >:D

Francis, ready the car! And bring the wine!

The Blue Screen of Death

I think my lappy is starting to kick the bucket. It takes forever to turn on, and yesterday it kept restarting itself. It would get to a certain point, and then I would see a flash of a little blue box and it would restart. It would get to the same point, I would witness the little blue flash, and then it would restart.

I think I know what is wrong. The stupid hinge is coming out and that may have caused some damage to the motherboard thingy.

Oh well, luckily I have all my updated Samurai and stories on my jumpdrive! Those are safe!

Francis, go get the pinecones and hollyberries from that last post. I don't know why you put them there. Yes, you can eat the berries and throw the pinecones at Rupert. I'm alright with that.

Pinecones and Hollyberries

I got my mission call! Chris and I, both at the same time. A lot of you probably know this already but I feel like posting it anyways.

I was called to serve in the Tokyo, Japan mission, and Chris was called to serve in the Kobe, Japan mission. We both will be learning Japanese (nihongo) and we both report to the MTC on July 16, 2008. For those of you who are itching to come and watch us speak (and laugh at us), our farewells are on July 13, that sunday before we leave. I assume it's going to be my normal church time, which is 9 am. But, I'll keep y'all posted on that as it gets closer.

But, yeah, wahoo!

Aaaaaaand on to other business. I and the Elvish Pirate Gypsy Minion Fiend saw Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull over the holiday break. Prince Caspian was awesome! I liked it lots and I want to go see it again. Bad. Like, really bad. It was so good. Indiana Jones 4 was alright. The third one is still my absolute favorite, but the fourth one probably comes in second. I don't know. I kinda need to watch the first one again. Heh heh. Other than that, it had the same suspenseful yet cheesy fighting (you know, the kind where you know the bad guy will eventually die) as all the other movies. And it was funny. But, yeah. Prince Caspian: awesome. Indiana Jones: Pretty Good.

And since I'm posting. . .I had a crazy dream last night that I went back to Payson High School to go to school. The weird thing though was that all my teachers from college were teaching there. Professor Simon was my English teacher, but English was more like foods class in that we ate a bunch of food, learned etiquette, and then did research on stuff from our future careers that had to do with eating. For some reason, my research was on the deep-see fishies. Which was cool but I don't think those fish are exactly tasty. Then my history teacher who was named Mr. Green (but was in fact Ryan Paul from SUU) accused me of taking a history book and never returning it. But I had never used one of his books in my research and so I had to go talk to him about that. Except that my Japanese teacher wanted me for something (no, she did not teach japanese in my dream) and that made me more stressed out. . .and on top of that I had a test and I forgot to put on my shoes and grab a pencil (though those turned up later in my dream). I think I would have gone bonkers had not Jenni been there in her awesome Elvish Pirate Gyspsy outfit (without shoes though) to guide me around Payson High. And then, I said to myself in my dream "Why am I at Payson High School? I'm not even in school anymore." To which myself replied "Jessica, you're serving your mission at Payson High School"

And then I woke up wondering what the heck I had just dreamed. Of course, as crazy as this is, it's nothing compared to the Elvish Pirate Gypsy's dreams. But, I felt like sharing.

Winston, I want you to hide any books dealing with learning! I don't want to see them! I'm sick of having dreams where I'm still in school! Put them away, NOW!! Go read the Calvin and Hobbes books instead. You'll learn everything you need to know from those two hooligans.

It's raining, it's pouring

Sooo, I wanted to get some pictures of Robber's Roost and post them, but, as always, I'm too lazy to go and get them from Dad so they'll have to come later. Other than that: The hike was awesome and horrible at the same time. The first three miles were a blast with much scrambling through slot canyons, Fat Man's Misery, and rappelling down cliffs (one being a free-fall). After all that fun stuff though, it was ten miles of trudging through heat, sand, and over rocks.

The definition of Forever is South Fork of Robber's Roost. It's also the definition of Eternal Hell. It took forever before we got to Middle Fork, then to the Dirty Devil River, before we threw down our packs on the banks of the Dirty Devil and went to sleep.

Funny story though, right after we had all settled down for bed I felt something move under my sleeping bag. Well, I thought it was my sleeping bag being weird so I kicked my tarp. It moved again. Confused, I sat up and looked at the spot and saw it moved. I yelled at dad to wake up, and I told him that there was something under my tarp. He sat up and looked, and just then my tarp moved again and something black skittered out from under it. Dad grabbed his headlight and shone it on it.

Lo and behold, it was a little froggy!

After that, we got serenaded by all these frogs. But they weren't the pleasant croaking and bloatings (sorry, Gurgi there. . . . ) but sounded as if the frogs were being flattened by a steam roller and then covered in cement at the same time. It was rather funny to listen to. Not to mention, when we woke up in the morning, a bird starting screeching like it was going to die. It was a very odd adventure.

But, I'm home, no longer sore (except for my bruised big toe. I've never had a toe bruised under the nail before. NOT PLEASANT!!!).

AND IT'S RAINING!!! Oh glorious, beautiful, wonderful, sweet, wet RAIN!!!

Of course, once it lets up, then it'll be time to tackle our weed-chocked garden, but that won't be too difficult. The ground will be nice and soft. And muddy. Which means. . . .

MUD FIGHT!!!

*starts throwing mud at goats* Come on, goaties, come and get me!

In answer to Mandi's question. . . .

I think there's five indian tribes. . .

Choctaw, Chikasaw, Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole.

Does that sound right?

Isn't it sad that after a whole year we still remember that?

*whistles*

I haven't posted in a while so I felt like posting. Here's some postings and happenings:

Saturday was a lovely time with Fiend and Mastah. We went to Barnes and Nobles where Mastah got her book signed by Jessica Day George (author of Dragon Slippers) and I got to briefly talk to Brandon Sanderson. What was a big killer was that he had the early copy of Hero of Ages sitting on the table. Yeah, I was salivating. Gosh I can't wait to read that!

Been watching Full Metal Alchemist with Nathan. I regret giving in to his incessant nagging because of the thematic elements in that anime, but. . .it's been fun watching them with him. And I did inform him that it's okay if he wants me to skip a part. Though, with how that anime goes, he may not want to. . .

I've been reading the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. I'm on The Black Cauldron right now. So good!

I'm going hiking this weekend! Yay! Robber's Roost! A two-day hike near Canyonlands Nat'l Park! :D

Aaaand, I wrote more today. Just half a page but it was something! I need to get writing. . .If I don't have that book done by June 30, I'll have to eat a tomato. *shudders* I do not want to do that so I best start writing everyday!

Okay, er, that's all. Oi, Rupert! Go take a bath! You stink like skunks! Have you been playing with skunks again? RUPERT!!

*goes to get the tomato juice* Darn goat!

(Mandi: Once I steal a camera, I'll take a picture and post it of my goats so you can see 'em)

Yay for Pinata's!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

And to celebrate it, we mutilated a pinata! It was so much fun. Dad had gotten it when he and my aunt went to Bajio. The Bajio people gave every customer a little pinata with a number on it, which matched up to a prize. Dad got a T-shirt and my aunt got a gift certificate.

Well, Dad brought it home, and Steph got the brilliant idea of filling it with candy. So she filled it with candy, Dad found a rope and threw it over a branch on our big oak tree, and then we proceeded to knock the candy out.

Nathan went first, and he hit it once (we each got three swings to try to hit it), and then Stephanie went, then Dad went (he almost hit it) and then I went. I totally whacked it and decapitated it! It was awesome! We all gathered around the pinata and munched on the candy, and then we decided to mutilate the rest of it so we kept whacking it until its body was in shreds. It was lots of fun. A great family home evening activity. . . minus Mom and Chris but it was still fun!

I wonder if goats make great pinatas. . .

Oh goaties. . . .

Home again home again

Okay, this is more for Mandi than anyone else. So, if you're not a Manda Panda then go and do something exciting. Like goat floating. . .

Shame on you for not knowing about goat floating! You throw goats into a pond until they sink. Then you hightail out of there before the grumpy farmer catches you!

Okay, so, Mandi, I will come and visit you if it kills me. I will. I was practically fainting from looking at the airplane prices, but I'm going to see if mom will pay half of the ticket for me. If it kills me I will come and see you! Promise! I want to see you! Chris said that he would like to come, and that would be fun, but I'll have to talk to him more about that. I'm sorry it's taking me so long, but I just barely recovered from the O-chem book-buying spree at the start of this year and with Grandma sick with cancer, Mom has been at her house every day, all day so that she can help her. Don't worry, I'll get with Mom and talk to her sometime this week and then I'll let you know when I'd like to come. Along those lines, if there's any day that will not be good for picking me up, or me coming in general, let me know so I can plan around that. Seriously. Anything that would compromise me getting picked up (I'll be flying into Memphis) I'd like to know. I'm sorry it's been such a pain, but. . . .

If you wait, I will come. . .

Now for the rest of you: I'm home! *and there was much rejoicing* And what's more was that right on my bed, still in its package, just waiting to be opened, was FULL METAL ALCHEMIST SEASON 1 PART 1!!!! And part 2 is on its way! And as soon as I get it I'm going to get season 2 part 1! And then part 2! And then maybe the movie!! And then I'll have all of Full Metal!! And then I can rest in peace!! And then I can spend more money on books and visiting Mandi and friends instead of saving it for my mission!! Yeah, I'm a little thrilled. Just a little. :D

And and and, as I was unpacking and situating stuff, I uncovered my little remote control jeep I got as a cruel gift for my sixteenth birthday from Mom and Dad. After a bit of digging, I found the charger and charged the batteries for close to four hours. It was long, but I was putting stuff away during that time. Afterwards though. . .muahahaha! It was so much fun! I was driving it everywhere, startling Katie and scaring Midnight. It was great!

And then, I had to clear one of my shelves in my closet to make room for the many books I happened to buy while at college. I now have five shelves stuffed with books. I'm running out of room! What am I gonna do when I run out? Fortunately, I don't have to worry about that until after my mission. Time to procrastinate on that thought!

Well, yeah, that's about all. . . .Winston, I just put that jeep away! Turn it off right now! If you don't, I'll take YOU goat floating! WINSTON!!!

Pardon me, but I have to go and stop a goat before he steers that thing over the other two.
*scurries off*

No Water, No Problem

Except that it's finals week.

The two basement apartments are flooding, as well as a basement apartment in the building next to us.

A girl in the apartment next to us has to move to a different room so maintenance can drill a hole into her wall.

The water pipes are in their death throes.

And we have no water!

Yeah, isn't the end of the school year great?

On the bright side, I bought The Golden Compass yesterday and me and my roomies all watched it last night. It made me so happy. I also went to Braun's Books too and bought four books. They are as follows:

The Book of Three
The Black Cauldron (really nice, new covers for these first two!)
The Cay
The Outsiders

Hmmm, all of those start with "the". . . .What a strange coinkidink! Oh well.

Hey Rupert, I think you should go take a bath while the waters still there in D2. You need a bath BADLY!!!

Well, I best continue to pace around until 10:45, which is when I need to leave for my Chem final. I'd do some studying but I feel I've done as much as I've been able to. Anymore won't be of much help, methinks. So, off to pace.

*starts pacing*

Study Day

It is so hard to study when you practically studied the material the week before. I mean, I had an out of class homework assignment in O-chem which basically was to prepare me for the ACS. Well, I feel pretty prepared. All I'm doing right now is reading the end-of-chapter reviews and working a couple of problems, but I feel ready. Unfortunately my final isn't until Wednesday at 11 am. I'm going to be so bored! I know I won't try cramming some last minutes studying that day becuase cramming does not work with O-chem. If you don't know the stuff by test day then there's nothing much else you can do.

It seems like I'm whining but I'm really not. My brain's just shot with all this studying. I need something else. . .chocolate, anime, a walk. . .a walk is good. Maybe I'll go for a walk? That'll be good. I like walks. They're good for my spleen. . . .

Francis, take over for me.

helo, ths is fragnchifs. i;'m sojrry fkor the mspekllings buyt it igs diffhibcuklt too tyipfe. i',m gtoo sgmdajll. baa1

Exploding Coconuts

Do coconuts migrate? They do in Cedar City! And specifically in the hands of myself, Alex, Kayleigh, and Nena.

You see, one coconut last night at 8:00 pm migrated from Wal-Mart, to our apartment, and then to the roof of the science building where it committed suicide with a resounding SPLAT! on the sidewalk below.

Yup, we threw a coconut off the science building.

It was awesome! We didn't drain any of milk out so when it went SPLAT! it went SPLAT! It was awesome! We decided that it will be a yearly event to celebrate the ending of one year of school.

Don't worry, we're currently in the process of separating coconut meat from shell, drenching it in sugar and then roasting it. We roasted some yesterday, and it was gu-ud!

Rupert! Winston! That is not a coconut! That's a watermelon! We won't be able to cover our tracks as well with that! No! Stop!

*flees*

Blah Blah

Hmmm. . . .I'm hungry.

*sings* Tonari no Totoro. To-to-ro!

Francis, don't you dare rescue Minnie!

To read or not to read. That is the question.

Of course, I could write. . . .

Anime club today. Yipee!

My Sharphin is gnawing on my brand new brush. Good sharphin!

For those who don't know, Sharphin is half-dolphin, half-shark.

Some idiot is playing their rap again. *retaliates with Rush*

How would I define poetry? Crazy? Weird? Confusing?

Inquisitive minds should not go on walks.

Walks are good for the spleen. (Not scientifically proven).

New Avatar episodes start airing on TV July 14. :P

TWO MORE DAYS OF CLASSES LEFT! *explodes*

First Anime Convention

So, after being roped unwillingly (or was it willingly?) into watching Anime, I went to my first Anime Convention today. Boy, was it fun. I didn't stay the entire time, for about three hours actually, but it was really fun. I would love to go to another one, especially a bigger one. This one in St. George was really small, small enough for them to hold it in the lobby of Holiday Inn. Yeah, it was small, but. . . .

I didn't really meet and talk to the voice actor who was the guest of honor just because Anime is still new to me, along with all the voice actors. But, his name was Jerry Jewell and he did the voices of Kyo Sohma in Fruit's Basket (very cute show, I highly recommend it) and Barry the Chopper in Full Metal Alchemist. He also did several other ones that I didn't know just because I haven't watched them yet (or don't really feel like watching: Yu Yu Hakushou for example). I did get his autograph on my program just because I could and I figured "Why not? I'm here aren't I?"

He was a cool guy too. There was a panel that the Anime Con hosts put on where all us fans got to ask him all sorts of questions and he answered them with a laugh and a smile. It was lots of fun. That was the highlight of the whole experience, especially when he started getting requests to do the voices of all the characters he did. Kyo's was especially funny. When a girl asked him to do that, rather shyly, he said (and pardon the language but it's so the character): "Dammit! People always ask me to do that!!" It was so funny! I laughed so hard! It's so Kyo!

For those of you who haven't seen Fruit's Basket, I'll have to show it to you. It's those kind of shows where no matter what episode you watch, or how much of one, you walk away feeling absolutely happy. It's such a cute Anime.

Anywho, so, I did get something from the Con. Unfortunately, they didn't have a good selection of merchandise. In fact, compared to what I was expecting, they really had nothing. Just a bunch of Americanized mainstream Anime action figures and trading cards (like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Gundam Wing) and a lot of Miyazaki merchandise. I was really surprised that they didn't have any Fruit's Basket merchandise or other Anime that Jerry was in. I did get a stuffed Totoro carrying a leaf. It cost a pretty penny, mainly because (according to the saleslady) they have been discontinued in America as well as Japan. Yeah, it was expensive, but I'm glad I got it all the same.

There were a lot of people who were dressed up (the infamous cosplaying that is almost a must at Anime Cons) and once I get the pictures from Kayleigh, I'll post them. There was one girl dressed up as Link. That was cool to see.

Well, I'm done typing now, but before I go and take a short nap: Yup! That quote from my last post is from Hook. Kudos to Lizardbreath and Alex! Er. . .yeah. *leaves*

"Lightening has struck my brain"

Does anyone know what movie that's from? I'll give you a clue: AWESOME!!! *wicked cackle*

Anywho, so I was looking at some past assignments from English 2010, and more specifically I was looking over this personal collage I had done. Well, one of the things I had written in this collage was the story of how Samurai came about. It was in this that I had a sudden thought:

According to that (which I remembered to be true) I had started writing my story in March 2004, which means I've only been working on it for four years. I always thought I was five years going onto six, but I'm not. Just four going onto five (but soon to finish!). It was a rather pleasant discovery.

I'm not a hopeless case!

Okay, so I am. I've already chosen two anime series to buy. Which was a very difficult thing to do becuase I still want to buy so many books! Gah! Anime. . .books. . .anime. . .books. *screams and pulls hair*

Okay, so much for that. I'm going to go read now. Winston, take over for me.

BAaah, baah, baaah, baaaaaaah! Baaah! *clicks goat heels together and snorts* Baaah, baah!

Yeah, you do sound like a sheep. . . .

Why I want to be a Marine Biologist

Every so often, I do or attend something dealing with Biology and every single time I walk away just remembering why I wanted to be a Marine Biologist in the first place. Well, today was one of those days.

There was a convocation today and the speaker was a deep-sea explorer by name of Edie Widder. She was so cool! And her presentation: AWESOME!!! She showed all these cool pictures that she herself took on her deep-sea explorations of viperfish, loose-jawed fish, jellies, and squids. She even had some rarely-seen video clips of six-gill sharks (deep-sea dwelling sharks) foraging for food.

Which was really cool. These sharks grow to be 12 feet in length, which is really hard to comprehend in the deep-sea environment where a fish is lucky to get a meal. However, these sharks forage in the sand, swallowing it and blowing it out through their gills and catching sand-dwelling critters for dinner. Dr. Widder had a video clip of that that she showed us. It was so cool!

She was able to get those video clips because she built the Eye-In-The-Sea. Which, for many who don't know, is a camera that sits on the bottom of the sea, with a little jellyfish-like light-up contraption that attracts other deep-sea creatures. Well, it was thanks to this contraption that she was able to discover the foraging techniques of the six-gill shark, and to see a squid that has not been seen before, and therefore has not been categorized in a family. She came up with this idea because the deep-sea submersibles make noise and so they scare away much of the wildlife (which, as she pointed out, is a probable reason why a giant squid has never been seen alive. They've only been found dead, floating on the ocean surface). The Eye-In-The-Sea, being very quiet, will allow scientists to see critters that have not been discovered yet.

It was just so cool. And I loved it. I wish I could get a hold of some of her pictures. They were so cool! And she had a good one of a viperfish (I did a presentation on that fishy in my fish class) and its modified first dorsal fin ray, which it uses as a lure to attract prey. That is why I want to be a marine biologist. I want to dive down into the deep oceans and see aviperfish for myself and other bioluminescent creatures doing their thing. It's just so fascinating. Nature is amazing! Science is amazing!

*sigh* I love this world.

Full Metal Alchemist

Thanks to my best buddy Heather, I now have the Full Metal Alchemist soundtrack!

^_^

Heather found this picture for me on Deviantart. I don't remember the artists name but its there in isty bisty teeny weeny black letters at the bottom (I very nearly typed "yellow polka-dot bikini"). It makes me happy.

Yeah, I'm a nerd. So, update on my current Anime because I can:

Full Metal Alchemist
The Get Backers (Almost done!! Only two more episodes left!!)
Kino's Journey
Black Cat

I guess School Rumble too, but those four above are more of a priority. I can find school Rumble online. So yeah, that's all folks!

Rupert! Get away from my books! You're going to make them all smelly! Get away! *throws flowers, strawberries, and all matter of pleasant-smelling things at Rupert*

The white bugs are falling again!

It's April!!! Why is it snowing?!?! Why?!? I thought we were done with that?!? I love the snow and all but I am ready for some rain and thunderstorms!

Did I offend the Gods in some way? Is Ryine angry at me and so Fristine is avenging her hurt feelings? What's going on?!

Francis, go ask Septos what's going on. He's close to Ryine, maybe he will tell us.

*sigh* It's sticking too. Maybe Septos will throw in some lightening with the snow. Hmmm. . .I've never heard of that before: lighting snowstorm. That sounds kinda cool. . .I'll have to remember that. . .throw it in a story somehow. . .that would be cool.

Blah, it's that time again! Off to class. Fishies!!!

Humorscopes

While listening to General Conference, I decided to check out the humorscopes for today. There were so many funny ones that I just wanted to share my favorites with all my good friends:

Ares- Once you're that far behind, there's really no way to get caught up. You might as well do something fun instead. You can tell them I told you it was ok.

Leo- You will be on your way downtown today, when you will be struck by an odd thought. Fortunately it will bounce harmlessly off you.

Libra- Your cat will go thundering past you on the linoleum, but will miss the doorway by an inch or so. You will hear an odd "ping!" sound as her head hits the doorjamb. No harm will be done.

Sagittarius- Today you will rush around in a tizzy. It will be sort of fun, actually, since the tizzy handles well, and has more than enough power to make an exciting ride.

Capricorn- Someone will ask you for your advice. Don't give it! Or if they insist, simply shake your head solemnly, and mutter "Much bad juju", and refuse to clarify. They only want a scapegoat.

Aquarius- Your ancestors were berserkers -- feared warriors who attacked without fear or common sense. You will soon enter the same state of mind, and when you finally "snap out of it", you will find an enormous pile of peeled potatoes and family members edging towards the door.

Pisces- Nothing unusual today. Unless you count that episode with the iguana...

Okay, so practically all the humorscopes today were awesome.

What was that Winston? You want advice on how to burn the dictionary? Advice bad juju, Winston! Go burn the mathbook instead.

Have a good Sunday everyone!

Beware Angry Bloggers

Screw the tires!!!!

Seriously, I swear Squirjee is a screw magnet. I got another screw in the tire again! This time, it had a washer (I think that's what it is. It's the flat thing that normally the screw goes into to help hold things together) so my tire didn't go flat immediately, but it was enough that I need a new tire.

Unfortunately, they didn't have any tires in stock that were cheap. The cheapest was $114 and if it wasn't for Chris being there to help me out, I may have bought it. Though, I can't be sure and now that I think about it I probably wouldn't have. I can be a blonde sometimes but that much for one tire. . .yeah, I wouldn't have done it. Forget that last sentence. . . .But, the earliest Big-O is going to get the tire-size I need will be Tuesday. Until then, Chris is letting me borrow his car to go to work, which brings me to a much happier note. . .

My last day is actually Thursday next week! There wasn't enough labor money for my manager to schedule a lot of people and she asked me if I would be offended if she only scheduled me for one day. I told her I wasn't, so Thursday is my last day! Which means I only have three more days of work! I am so happy!

Well, I'm going to go read some more because books=happiness and I could use a little more happiness right now. Have a, er, good day!

His Dark Materials

So I just finished reading His Dark Materials, the trilogy that The Golden Compass is a part of, and all I can say is: It's just a story, and a good story at that. Sheesh.

Some people's kids, that's all I have to say. Man, if anything I'd love to have a little more on what happens to Will and Lyra afterwards. The book I have (all three in one volume) has little excerpts called Lantern Slides which is just snippets on parts of the story that isn't told in the story itself, and there is one about Lyra at age eighteen. Unfortunately it's just a paragraph, and doesn't really say much other than she's studying the aleithiometer and can somehow communicate with Will. Gah! I hated how it ends! It's so infuriating!!

And I want a daemon! That's so cool! I want a constant companion that goes everywhere with me. It's so cool!

Now, I have four books I can read next. Well, three since one of them is a sequel (The Year of the Griffin) so I think I'll write some more of Samurai, then decide on what book to read.

Ooooh, that would be a great discussion. Hey, Winston! I need you to help me with this debate on what book to read next! No, Francis, I don't want a joke book. . . .Rupert, you're the one who needs a book about keeping one's self clean! Compared to you, our shower is germ-free!

Okay, maybe not. There are things living in our shower. . . .

Oh, and it's Mastah Genius Day! So go find a Mastah near you and break their dishes, play in their laundry, and tinker with their doomsday devices! Happy Birthday Mastah!

Much Ado About Nothing

Friday was a good day, yesterday. It's so nice being a science major. Your classes get cancelled because your teachers have to be present at the high school science fair being hosted by SUU. I had no classes yesterday, it was so nice. Though, I did work on some homework. Well not some, just one homework. I was sweating bullets over a stupid poem analysis paper, trying to figure out what to write and how to put into coherent terms so I don't sound so vague.

Which is a very difficult thing to do. Poetry is already vague enough without having to try to explain your interpretation of it. It's so difficult it should be shot. Don't worry, I got it done though.

On top of having no classes, I got off of work early. I believe due to the increase in gas prices, people are limiting their driving around town to when they absolutely need it. That and the sun setting at 7:30 pm. Needless to day, we were short on labor so after I stocked candy and popcorn and ran the last stack of returns, I was free to go home. Of which I then went to Off the Cuff and laughed so hard I'm surprised my cheeks aren't sore.

Oh, Mom, they were doing this one game in which the audience chooses a one-syllable name, and the comedians all sing a song to it so that the last word of the line they're saying rhymes with the name. They keep going until a person fails to come up with a new rhyme, or says one that was used before, and then they start all over again with a new name. I yelled out Spock on a new round and they used it! It was so funny, and they got really far on his name. It was a great night.

Well, yeah, that's all. . .off to buy a present for Mastah now. Her special day's tomorrow!!! Which means she'll probably get it in a couple of days becuase the Post Office on campus (yes, I'm lazy) isn't open on weekends. So, yeah, expect, er, something soonish Mastah!

If I were home I'd make you cookies, but, alas, you'll have to be happy with something else.

>:D

I can make a hangman's noose.

I thought I knew how before but I really didn't.

I can make a hangman's noose.

My uncle showed me how yesterday.

>:D

Oh Rupert. . . .

As the crow flies

"As the crow flies" is the worse thing for any hiker to hear when they are hot, tired, thirsty, and yearning to see the car appear in front of her.

Seriously, I'm hiking along and then I want to know how much further to some point or other along the trail so I call to my Uncle--minus the falling trees but that's another story-- "Hey, Uncle, how much further?"

To which he glances at the GPS and says, "Half a mile away. . . .as the crow flies."

Gah! It's torture! For those of you who do not understand this jargon, "as the crow flies" is basically a beeline to the endpoint, but because there are lovely obstacles called canyon walls, a hiker needs a pair of wings to make that beeline that is only a half mile.

So, yeah, that's a hateful statement. It basically means that you'll be hiking double, maybe even quadruple, the distance indicated on the GPS. The things I put myself through.

So yeah, went hiking this weekend. Yeah, I'm pleasantly sore, and sporting a blister on my heel. We did two hikes, one was six and a half miles (not as the crow flies) and the second one was a 15-mile loop. The first one, Tillman Wash, was pretty fun with cool pools and alcoves to scramble around. We also hiked out to the edge of the reef, and my uncle, papa bear, and a friend of my uncle's decided to play the role of boy scouts and began pushing rocks over the side of the cliff. And we're not talking about little or medium-sized rocks, these were basically small boulders. It was cool though. I could actually feel the cliff shudder when these hobbit boulders hit the bottom of the cliff. Which was about a five second count, by the way.

The second hike, the 15-miler, consisted of two canyons: Crack and Chute Canyon. Crack Canyon was fun, but the hike over the San Rafael Reef and through Chute was not. It was long, sandy, and very hot. Crack Canyon had a bunch of obstacles and one place where you had to rappel, and it was much more fun. All in all, we (Dad, Uncy Luap, Bee, Katie Sue, and me) decided that Crack Canyon is fun to do, just go down it and then back up. And Chute Canyon is good for taking kids on it just to hike through a canyon. Chute Canyon has no obstacles or anything.

So, yeah, there's my report. I'll see if I can get a hold of some pictures we took from Dad and I'll post those later. Those canyons were very pretty. Nature is so pretty. . .and hiking is AWESOMELY FUN!!!

Anywho, Francis, go find an Easter egg. I'm sure you'll find one somewhere that the kiddies haven't found yet. . . .

Tormenting kitties

So, the other day I gave Midnight a belly blast (known as rasberries to the other weirdoes out there). It was rather funny. She didn't run away or scratch me or anything like that, she just gave me a look of "What did you just do? WHY did you just do that? You're an idiot, go away."

And then Mom started tickling the bottom of her paws, and she started growling at us. And then we would play with her tail and she would get annoyed, but she never scratched us. All she did was get up and stalk to some other corner of the bed. Which Mom and I would just follow her and then bug her some more.

And then Mom and I were smelling a bunch of candles from some company called Scentsy (or whatever), and I had Midnight sniff a couple. The first one she sniffed, she closed her eyes and leaned away as if she didn't care for it. But then I gave her another one to smell. It was called lime and lemon. Ha ha! She totally flinched and ran off! It was so funny! She really didn't like that one!

Hee. I love my Kitty.

Yes, Winston, I love you too. Yes, you can go read the encyclopedia. I'll quiz you on what you didn't learn so don't pay attention to the important things! Good goat.

YAY!! I'M HOME!!!

And on to other important things.

So, I was at my Grandma's house yesterday just sitting and visiting with her, Mom, and my aunt and my aunt noticed a bird sitting in the tree that my Grandma has all of her birdfeeders hanging from. So, I got up and took a look and I said, "That's a falcon of some sort." I thought it was a kestrel because they're all over the place in Elk Ridge, but Mom grabbed Grandma's bird book and some binoculars and we took a closer look. Here's what it looked like (the picture is from the internet, of course)


Does anyone know what this birdy is? Anyone? Anyone have a guess?

Rupert I already hinted it was a falcon. It's beak and body is completely wrong to be a duck. And it's too big to be a sparrow. Go take a bath!

Sheesh, some goats. Anywho, becuase I can see you're all biting your nails in confusion and excitement I'll tell you. This here, and that bird sitting in my Grandma's yard, is a Merlin. Falco columbias. What's cool is that you don't see them a lot here in Utah. They are migratory birds, but will sometimes take up winter residence in some places. Apparently that female merlin (the males have blue-gray wings) decided that Grandma's house is an excellent place to hold out for the winter. And boy does she take advantage of those bird feeders! I think this was the same bird that I saw at Christmas time. That time, I actually saw this she-merlin catch a bird and start eating it.

Grandma wasn't so happy about that, but I thought it was cool. Nature in action! And a merlin!! AWESOME!!!

Tagged

Ah! I've been tagged! Drat! Now they're going to be able to track me with satellite and radios. I don't want to be a part of a biologists experiment! I don't want my habits and behavior studied! I don't want to be documented in a scientific journal! I don't want my methodical madness to be known! AAAAHHHH!!!

*runs around for an hour or two*

Okay, that was fun. So, I got tagged. . .by Lizardbreath. . .so here's some seven strange and wondrous things about the Defective Minion Nomad Jekka Fiend:

1. I can cross one eye, both eyes, and move one eye in a complete circle at a time. It's rather fun and I love freaking people out with it.

2. I have a fascination with boxes of any kind, but I especially like the boxes that are antique-looking. I have yet to come across/get my hands on a box with an old fashioned key to open it.

3. I can make dolphin noises, and according to a dolphin trainer at Marine World I really sound like one. I can also do a loon call, chickadee chirps, and house finch trills.

4. I still have Pogs, complete with a whammer. They're all in this little Felix the Cat case that I got in a Wendy's Happy meal

5. I am slowly becoming an Anime freak. I've been watching a lot of anime and I'm going to an Anime Convention that's coming to St. George. I just finished Trigun yesterday (AWESOME!!!) and have a few animes that I would actually buy

6. Unfortunately, all my buying money goes towards books. I'm addicted to books. (Elantris came!)

7. Being blond, I like brown hair. No matter how hard I try to put variety in my stories when it comes to hair color, I always picture the characters with brown hair. Though red hair sometimes pops up, like Liliana, on rare occasions.

Well, that was fun. Er, I guess most of my buddies have been tagged alweady. . .but, I'll do it again, just to be sure.

Francis! Ready the radio transmitters!