Study, study, study
Well, it's another day of being hard at work. ...Um, actually, that's a lie, I would be hard at work, but thing is, I'm working on the last-minute changes to my monthly and quarterly reports, which means lots of games of tag with my editors (Fujita-san and my parents, respectively.). I've sent the best drafts I could to them, and am now waiting for a response. Well, actually, I sent one thing to Fujita-san, this morning she gave back just the part with all the font and order of the table of contents stuff to change, and told me to add more stuff about my actual work (because as usual I had much more to say about vacation than I do about work.) so I had something to work on while she looked at the actual text. So, I did that, sent it in, got back revisions to do of the text she's seen so far. I turned that in, now I'm waiting for feedback on that, and the stuff I just added in. Sigh. It's going to be a long day.
...If I just lost you in that paragraph, don't worry. I'm still a little confused myself. What I really wish is that I could just turn in a draft and get all the revisions I have to do done in one or two drafts, instead of four or five. They are so nitpicky here, it's really quite disgusting.
However, since Fujita-san is asking me to write about even stuff like the chores I have to do, I have an opportunity to write how I think it's completely unfair that they make women clean the kitchen after work hours, but not the men. The other chores that everyone does is one thing, but that was appalling to me from the very beginning. Apparently here they still think that anything to do with the kitchen is women's work. >_________< It's not difficult or time-consuming, but still, it's irritating being asked to spend time doing stuff I already have to do at home all the time, for a bunch of people I don't even talk to. There are 14 women (including me) and 20 men in the department, and if everyone had a turn, we'd only have to do it once in a while, instead of each woman having to do it twice a month. I'm sure Fujita-san will make me use softer words to describe all this, but I tried.
In the meantime, I ought to be studying for the JLPT that is on Sunday. Thank God I'm finally getting it over with. I still have plenty to do with my drill books and stuff, but I'm also starting to get to that point where I know I've learned all I can learn in such a short amount of time, and from here, it's just a matter of trying to keep everything fresh until the Big Day. It's all downhill from there, unless some other hideous thing comes up.
Last Sunday, I went to another yukata party, and this time, though no one broke my camera, I either didn't ask enough people to take pictures for me, or the people who tried didn't take them properly, because I don't have nearly as much as I would like. Everyone looked lovely, and the room was nicely decorated to fit the Tanabata (Star Festival) theme. There were more yukata to choose from this time. I really liked the one I chose, which featured a nice shade of purple. I didn't like the hairdo they gave me as much though. It looked good in the back, but in the front everything was a little too neatly tucked away. I prefer the sort of messy, assymetrical hairdos with lots of braids and curls everywhere, makes it more interesting. Ah well, variety's part of the fun of going to different stylists, I guess. I got to read an English explanation of the Tanabata Festival, and some friends read poetry. Also, there was a group of musicians who played all wind-instrument-renditions of several songs, ranging from "Amazing Grace" to traditional Japanese songs, to "Heal the World." I should've known there'd be Michael Jackson in there somewhere, the lady in charge of the event loves him. XDD
We're finally, finally changing into our summer uniforms tomorrow, July 1st. The shirt is short-sleeved, and though I still have to button it all the way up, there doesn't seem to be a snap-on ribbon, and maybe I don't have to tuck it in. They did, however, suggest wearing an undershirt, and I'd understand why, because the fabric is somewhat itchy. Still, I've never been one to wear layers, especially in summer.
I ordered a short green wig for Lenalee cosplay (I know in the manga her hair is black, and they're just playing around with color in the anime, but still, I watch the anime, her hair looks green, I like it that way, and I figure if I'm going to collect wigs, I might as well get a variety of colors.) from two different sites, where I had to wait forever before they informed me that they were sold out (even though on the site it said the wig was in stock), and cancelled the order. I looked on Japanese Amazon.com, and they seem to have the same one there, so I tried ordering it again. We'll see what happens. -_-;;;;
Anyone heard of Emilie Autumn? I found some songs by her on youtube and from my limited command of music-related jargon, it feels like an interesting blend of rock and classical/baroque with Gothy lyrics. I really like it, I'm thinking I'll pick up an album sometime if I get the chance. In the meantime, I'm ordering the Chrono Cross and Xenogears soundtracks. I need some stuff to sneakily listen to at work while I plug away at that translation project. XD
Anyway, wish me luck on the test! I will need it.