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Woke up at 6:30 AM because my body thought it was, like, 8:30 PM or something. I'm completely, utterly, totally run down, which I'm sure is due to the flight plus the cold. I had many confusing dreams about walking around in a big airport or train station composed of many little confusing Shinto shrines, with all text written in Japanese. Which isn't too far from a lot of urban Japan, actually.

Have been doing a bit of online research to see if I can figure out anything about the kitsune shrine we found in Arashiyama. Have come up with nothing so far, because naturally most of the info online about kitsune and shrines tends to be neopagan and/or unattributed, so finding out specifically what these things are to Shinto practitioners is hard.

If anyone knows of why small rocks and stones would be placed on top of a tori gate, let me know. That also fascinates me.

Plan for today: grocery store so I don't starve to death, then SLEEEEEEEP.

(no subject)

Just got a comment from spikeiowa, who we met along with voidampersand in the ryokan in Magome (they'd been to Worldcon also). voidampersand's been posting pictures of their trip on his LJ, and I'd like to espcially draw your attention to the Magome & Tsumago set, which has pictures of Magome, the Tajimaya ryokan we stayed at, and the Nakasendo road hike that we didn't take the day before he took the photos. :D You can get a good idea of how beautiful the area is.

I think I really like the Magome leg of the trip, if only because most Japanese we talked to had no idea what or where it was, so despite the tour buses going into Tsumago, it's an experience that even most Japanese don't get. XD

(no subject)

20 min. 3.5 mi. Total: 519.3 From Rivendell: 56.6 mi. Cold and windy. Camping.


Wow, my first time to bike in exactly one month! :D Well, I spent one week not biking before Japan, and then three weeks walking everywhere. I didn't lose much weight total in Japan, but I did gain muscle. I know this because my jeans that used to fit me exactly now are slightly loose - moreso than the 3 pounds I lost according to the scale should make them - and when I sat down to bike today, I had to crank the tension up by one notch to get the same level workout. :)

I am now two pounds away from the weight I was when I started grad school for the first time in Denver. Unfortunately, I lose weight in different places than where I gain it, so I'm still wearing clothes a size or two (depending on the item of clothing) larger now than I was when I was in Denver.

The career meme

Career meme:
1. Go here: http://www.careercruising.com/default.asp
2. Put in Username: [removed, see here for details.]
3. Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
4. Post the top twenty results.
5. Bold preferences.

Wel, I didn't totally follow the meme, and didn't bold my preferences, instead I bolded all of them to separate them from my commentary. But it's not like you can't figure out which ones I'd like to do and which ones I'd not like to do. And I posted all of them, not just the top twenty.

It was decently accurate, though.

( Read more... )

Plz to be noting that "librarian" didn't even make the cut, although I expect they assume being a librarian has to do with working with books. It actually has little to do with working with books and everything to do with organizing information, which tends to fit right in with computer programming and web design.

Today's schedule has been...

1. Wake up, 6:30 AM, eat leftover Subway sandwich for breakfast
2. Read LJ, websurf
3. Fall asleep on sofa, 9:30 AM
4. Wake up at 3:30 PM, cat on foot
5. Websurf, LJ. Note that prompt submitted for springkink's fall round ahs been claimed by someone. Celebrate quietly.
6. 6:30: realize that apartment office has been closed for an hour and thus gate card cannot be picked up.
7. 6:35 Realize last ate about 12 hours ago, and no food in house.
8. 6:45: finally get butt out door to grocery store.
9. 7:15ish: come back from grocery store, exercise
10. 9:00: realize have still not eaten yet. Post to LJ instead of deciding what to eat.