Ask Kate

[katelynisspecial]

Wow, so.. after the whole computer thing, I didn't re-add this to my taskbar, so I never saw it when I was online, and therefore never came here, because I forgot O_o

But, anyways.

Hmm...

So many new things. I can't remember what I've shared before, so forgive any repeats.

Work's going really well. Turns out, my current supervisor has told me he is working on getting me leadership experience, because he wants to promote me next year, which is super cool. So I've been left in charge several times, which is composed of writing rotations, making sure everyone gets on break on time, and generally making sure things run smoothly and dealing with any guest issues. There's been a touch of drama/resentment for my coming into power being younger than quite a few of the returning workers, but I think it'll be okay once people really understand what is going on. I'm really enjoying it, and I'm excited.

However, it looks like it will come down to a promotion/pay raise vs. going to Japan next summer. Because if I get a supervisory position, I can't take like a month off to go on vacation. So, I've been looking at colleges lately, planning trips to Miami University and OSU, kind of thinking about majors. I'm looking into International Relations related majors, with a minor in Japanese, which would require me to study abroad for quite some time. So, since my priorities have been changing, I might end up waiting until then to go =/
It sucks, but my money and especially time is going in another direction lately.

On the Japanese front, I went for an internship at a Japanese immersion camp. So I'm stretched pretty thin this month, with essentially two jobs. It's for inner city kids at the Academy of World Languages. All these kids have been taking their specific language (Japanese, Chinese, Russian, or Arabic), since first grade, but don't know very much. So one teacher and two interns for each language are conducting a camp entirely in the target language, to boost their language skills. We've been going on field trips, etc, it's really cool. The kids are cute, and they see to adore me, haha. Plus, I get $10/hour.

I'll be doing that, and working in the afternoons, as the camp is from 8-12, until I leave for Europe on the 22nd.

The net meetup went okay. I think a certain person came into the meetup with impossible expectations/denial/misunderstanding about how it would be, and so we didn't get along as well as I had hoped. But the other two were fine, and I'm actually now dating one of them. I had my whole.. never going long distance relationship again, but then sometimes you meet someone where the decision nearly gets made for you =P
So we'll see how it goes, he's 10 hours away. I'm trying to set aside a week in August to go over there.

So.. I think that's it. I hope you're still reading =]

[Yuuji]

Originally Posted by katelynisspecial

Wow, so.. after the whole computer thing, I didn't re-add this to my taskbar, so I never saw it when I was online, and therefore never came here, because I forgot O_o

1) I didn't know you add these kind of things to a taskbar, unless they are already running (at least the simple taskbar I know).

2) I only just got back from 3 weeks in New York as my family moved out of the home i grew up in (was in the family for 31 years) and all they had was unsteady dial up. -- I couldn't even read this site anyway if I wanted to.

But, anyways.

Hmm...

So many new things. I can't remember what I've shared before, so forgive any repeats.

Work's going really well. Turns out, my current supervisor has told me he is working on getting me leadership experience, because he wants to promote me next year, which is super cool.

Cool. And so you plan on working one more year/summer before college? (When did you plan on going to Japan again?)

So I've been left in charge several times, which is composed of writing rotations, making sure everyone gets on break on time, and generally making sure things run smoothly and dealing with any guest issues. There's been a touch of drama/resentment for my coming into power being younger than quite a few of the returning workers, but I think it'll be okay once people really understand what is going on. I'm really enjoying it, and I'm excited.

Again, cool. And yeah....that's more RL. And your attitude seems good.

However, it looks like it will come down to a promotion/pay raise vs. going to Japan next summer. Because if I get a supervisory position, I can't take like a month off to go on vacation.

Hmmm, and yeah...as you can tell, I still have the habit of responding first, then reading on. But I also consider that more 'real' in these kind of situations, then compared to reading email.

So, I've been looking at colleges lately, planning trips to Miami University and OSU, kind of thinking about majors. I'm looking into International Relations related majors, with a minor in Japanese, which would require me to study abroad for quite some time. So, since my priorities have been changing, I might end up waiting until then to go =/

*nodnods*
Definitely.

That way you do kill two birds with one stone: The costs are usually the same, sans plane ticket. So make sure they have a good study abroad program, that will put you into a Japanese city that you WANT to go to. Sometimes they put you into an little Japanese island, or coast...when Kyoto or Tokyo would be much better.

It sucks, but my money and especially time is going in another direction lately.

*nods* Definitely happens.

On the Japanese front, I went for an internship at a Japanese immersion camp. So I'm stretched pretty thin this month, with essentially two jobs. It's for inner city kids at the Academy of World Languages. All these kids have been taking their specific language (Japanese, Chinese, Russian, or Arabic), since first grade, but don't know very much. So one teacher and two interns for each language are conducting a camp entirely in the target language, to boost their language skills. We've been going on field trips, etc, it's really cool. The kids are cute, and they see to adore me, haha. Plus, I get $10/hour.

*laughs* That's about 100% more then I got from my first job! ($5.25 an hour) and sounds better then dishwashing.

Congradulations on finding it.

I'll be doing that, and working in the afternoons, as the camp is from 8-12, until I leave for Europe on the 22nd.

*blinkblinks* Europe?

Er...remind me again what that is about? For some reason I don't remember you mentioning on going...

The net meetup went okay. I think a certain person came into the meetup with impossible expectations/denial/misunderstanding about how it would be, and so we didn't get along as well as I had hoped. But the other two were fine, and I'm actually now dating one of them.

Oh!!

And it's nice to hear about netmeetups again!
I thought they were no more after my generations...with facebook and such...

I had my whole.. never going long distance relationship again, but then sometimes you meet someone where the decision nearly gets made for you =P

*nods* Yes. I remember. (how the decision gets made for you)

So we'll see how it goes, he's 10 hours away. I'm trying to set aside a week in August to go over there.

10 hours....that will be hard. But I definitely still wish you the best.
And again, to do 2 or 3 things at the same time. Does he have similar interests? (Like Japanese, or your possible college major, etc?)

So.. I think that's it. I hope you're still reading =]

Hai!

I literally just got in.
First I went to New York.
Then I drove (yes, drove) to Florida to keep assisting my parents.
Then drove back to New York.
Then, finally, drove back to Ohio on Thursday night, 10 pm.
By 10am the next day I had to get to the University since I was driving 3 other friends to ColossalCon (and met two there).

This Con was completely successful, and we all had a great time (didn't want to leave).
If I even had to try finding a bad point, it would be that I was so exhausted going into the con, that I missed the Water Park (only got to go for about a half hour). Otherwise, just random Con fun (anime style).

So tonight is the first time I can just.....relax.....with nothing to have to do for a few days.

And I just got back to my DSL (I can never go back to dial-up), and started checking my old sites. And Lo and behold, you wrote back yesterday.

Worked out well.

[katelynisspecial]

Well, I realized I didn't mean taskbar exactly, I meant the little drop down thinger where you type your URLs, I visit all my daily sites via that. And so if it's not there... I end up not going =P

Europe.. I swear I've mentioned it O_o
It's a school trip, we started planning to go in September, I think.
I leave tomorrow evening for Munich, and we're also going to France, Monaco, and Spain. I'll be back July 8th. I'll probably have occasional internet, but that's it.

I'll write more later when I return, I've been so busy preparing X_x

[Yuuji]

Originally Posted by katelynisspecial

Well, I realized I didn't mean taskbar exactly, I meant the little drop down thinger where you type your URLs, I visit all my daily sites via that. And so if it's not there... I end up not going =P

Yeah, I know what you mean.
I usually hate to 'clear' everything from my browser, on the basis that I like that history.
Google Chrome has a slightly different version of it. (being that the first page you see, is (mostly) your history.

Europe.. I swear I've mentioned it O_o

It's been a while (long while), but all I remember was that it was a possibility. A dot on the radar. And that's the last I heard of it.

Due to the fact that your life is really picking up speed (and that's gonna happen ~17) I do not get updates like we used to. So it might be salient on your mind....but..

Same thing happened 20 years ago for me (when I was 17). So I know what it feels like.
And now you might start to understand those people who say 'where does the time go'? Or how life just passes them by.

Hardly any time to breathe, let alone being able to 'stop and smell the roses', ain't it?

It's a school trip, we started planning to go in September, I think.
I leave tomorrow evening for Munich, and we're also going to France, Monaco, and Spain. I'll be back July 8th. I'll probably have occasional internet, but that's it.

Cool.

And understood about the internet (besides, when will you have time? It's _Europe_)
If you have time (and thus boredom) to need to check the 'net socially, then those who planned your trip kinda sucked.

BTW, I've never been to Europe.

So when you get back, tell me what it was like.

I'll write more later when I return, I've been so busy preparing X_x

*grins*
Understood!

And yeah....there is a LOT to prepare. Let alone keeping it controlled enough to not frazzle you before leaving (my Mother makes that mistake often, gets all worked up before leaving that the stress carries over into the first few days. Talk about shooting oneself in the foot...)

Only things I can (quickly, and therefore digestibly) suggest are:

1) Your camera (and assorted gear, including a specialized lens cloth to clean the lens...those spots can ruin a good picture). Don't forget about that nifty 'movie' feature on the cameras (and also enough storage).

2) A belt pouch for the camera (or whatever is comfortable. Just sometimes by the time you fish out the camera, the shot it gone. Or you just don't bother). 'Course....I'm a camera person for the memories...if you are not..then nevermind. Then again, I know about your pictures from Ohayocon...hmmm.

3) And maybe the most important: Put aside a budget of, say, $50. That way, when you find your are missing something, don't lament...just use the 50 bucks (25 euros?) on it, and get back to having fun. Be prepared for mistakes, accept them, spend the money, get back to having fun.

Now I know you are _much_ better prepared for #3. I just know for myself it was a problem I had. Heck, most of my cohort (same age friends) experienced the same thing. Something went wrong, or forgotten...and the rest of the day(s) had a grey cloud over them.

But your generation doesn't seem to have this weakness.
On the other hand, sometimes I've noticed too much apathy, too much indifference....but at least you don't get bogged down by overly sweating the small stuff.

Let the budgeted money do the job.
And if by the last day you have some leftover --- splurge. A last bit of fun before (or during) that way-too-long flight home.

Sometimes that overpriced candy/treat at the airport really makes a difference before a long flight.

Have a safe (and enjoyable) trip.

[TakeMeForCola]

swear i posted a question

meh either way lost now

you catching up with pally yet?

been good? still at school?

sorry been a while i should pay attention

still have a fetish over different types of food decoration s and purple

[daz]

Hi kate. How are things going?

[Gothrad_]

what does anime mean to you, did it have an impact on your life, change your attitude or anything?

[katelynisspecial]

Yuuji --

Europe was awesome =D
I haven't uploaded photos anywhere yet.. there's hundreds and the task is kind of daunting, but when I put them on facebook I'll direct link them here so you can see. And I will tell you about the trip using pictures, there is way too much to try and just blindly summarize everything!

ETA: Here is a video I uploaded =D
YouTube - Eurotrip 2009

I've been back for about a week and a half, so I've been hanging out with the friends I missed. We went to see Harry Potter, for example.

Also getting back into work, and catching up on all the crew gossip.

In other news, my close friend's older sister has (almost) agreed to make me a cosplay for this year =D
I haven't decided what I want to be yet, but she's amazing, so if I show her a picture, she should be able to do it. She normally makes all of the ballet performance costumes for her entire troupe, and she also made her prom dress. So I'm excited. Ideas? I don't want something overdone or totally obscure.

TMFC --

Here in America, we don't go to school in the summer =P
I will start back in August. For a whopping three hours a day!
(Plus college classes.)

Yes, I like cooking still, but haven't had much of a chance to make anything now that I don't need school lunches.

Daz --

Hey. I'm good =D
Talk to me on msn more, lazy!

Gothrad --

I have a lot of good memories with anime, developing friendships, conventions and things like that =]

[Yuuji]

Originally Posted by katelynisspecial

Yuuji --

Europe was awesome =D
I haven't uploaded photos anywhere yet.. there's hundreds and the task is kind of daunting, but when I put them on facebook I'll direct link them here so you can see. And I will tell you about the trip using pictures, there is way too much to try and just blindly summarize everything!

That makes sense, unless you have 70 minutes spare to write about it all.

I'm glad it all went well.
I'm trying to watch it over on youtube, but for some reason it's taking a while to download (to the viewer). I can see that you are in front of a clock tower, with good sound too.

Are you using a vid camera? Your camera's video function? Or is it from someone else's camera?
The quality is quite good if that is only a digital camera's video ability. And the sound is better then mine. Oh, I just saw when you panned to Adam and made him say 'hi'.

Otherwise:
How was the new Harry Potter?

As for a cosplay, at first I would suggest something from shuffle! But unfortunately that show is going to be a bit dated these days, and it will be hard for newer fans to recognize it.

So for cosplay, what are your favorite female characters for today? Then you just pick the one that's simplist and more recognizable. For example, Naru (main lead from Love Hina) is just a sweater, skirt, and a wig with two long wires wrapped in the wig hair for her 'antenna'. Still recognizable, and yet under $50 (usually the skirt and sweater are already in your closet, or you can get from a second hand store cheap). It's the wig and antenna which are the hardest.

But you probably have no desire to play Naru. It's just for example.

Hope to see those pictures soon.
I'm going to go watch the rest of the youtube video.

[katelynisspecial]

Wow, hey.
I got your email.
As usual, been busy. School started, etc.
Yeah, that was just with a basic point and shoot digital camera.

I'm currently considering doing a K-ON! cosplay, as it's not licensed, but getting so popular most hardcore fans should recognize it.
I wanna be Mio, and we'd do their costumes from the end sequence.
(She's the one with the long black hair.)

YouTube - ���ん�[K-ON!] ED - {HD}

Okay so pictures. Finally uploaded them. First off, a few from Germany.
I took tons of architecture, etc pictures, but I'll just post the ones with people in them to keep it interesting, as you can see anything else using google if you wanted =P
We landed in Munich, and spent a couple of days there before moving on to Heidelburg. I loved Germany, it was gorgeous and everyone was so friendly.
However, it rained quite a bit.

Here is a friend and I at dinner one night:



My sister and I at a castle, overlooking Heidelberg.


Inside the castle walls:



In front of a fountain thing:


In a German restaurant for lunch, with the regular customers' beer glasses stored behind us:


On a strange child's playground rocking horse thing in the middle of a shopping district:


And lastly, me pointing to the Japanese writing on an ice cream sign in Heidelberg =D:


I'll do France/Monaco in the next post.