All Souls' Night

Okay, so. For whatever reason, my mattress is about five inches short for my bedframe. So I had made a pillow-thing to sit over the gap, so things didn't fall through... like my head, for example, back when I slept in that direction. The pillow is a little wider than the bed, actually, and round; to make it, I took one of those floating noodle thingies that kids play with in the pool, and wrapped a fair amount of batting around it, then finished it up with a round bag-shape sort of like a golf-bag, which is made most randomly of green-and-autumn colored, formal-brocade-patterned corduroy, and is the actual outside of the pillow. It was there, and is nowhere near as ugly as that description makes it sound. Only the bag was too big, still, even after all that batting, so I pulled out a needle with a blunt end and a huge eye and stitched it tight with some narrow ribbon. And the open end was already designed to simply close with a drawstring, so that was that.

Anyway.

I know that I am a violent sleeper. (Not always. Sometimes I lie deathly still and wake up in a cold sweat. But that's rare.) My sister refuses to share a bed with me after I clocked her in the eye. While asleep. With no memory of it afterwards. But still.

I just noticed that that pillow, which lies at the foot of my bed, had been ejected at some time in the night, and is lying on the floor in a manner that suggests it might have gotten there by bouncing off the far wall first. Well, was. I've picked it up and put it back now. And my feet don't normally reach the foot of the bed! Man. Apparently I not only swing fists but have the kick of doom when I'm asleep.

I just woke up. This seems a pretty decent reason to not go to any more of my classes today.

The other day I was inspired to create a new character, and over the course of the past couple semi-delirious days I put him together. So I now have my new character should Liennon be killed, all rolled up. I was a little put off, because this guy's kinda weak, so he can't carry all the stuff I wanted him to have, but due to a lucky roll there's no question of affordability.

Frankly, I would enjoy the challenge of playing both him and Liennon at once. I've done that before, and their characters are sufficiently opposite to keep them from becoming confused.

Anyway, Maelith Nailo is an elfin rogue, on the small side, very beautiful and very androgynous, but he's a baritone. To be poetic, his skin is bronzed, his hair is dark as night, and his eyes are as clear and expressive as lakewater. The hair is long and braided and occasionally used in place of thread. If someone wants to draw him *ahem ahem* use that description and the one for explorer's clothes (page 131) and there you have it.

For a very basic character, I really like Maelith.

And now, to indulge my curiosity, I will make more! It's fun.

(as opposed to the haw-haw fruit)

Well, though I slept through class again this morning, when I woke up I did so pretty definitely, and with a headache. I can thereby conclude that I was not sick, or that if I was, I'm not any more. Thank goodness! But I'm going to have to try and do something to impress upon my professors the fact that I'm really not enjoying the idea of going to Japan, especially if the entire point of going seems to be, to learn Japanese, and not have anything to do with the country itself.

Why yes, I have been reading Jane Austen. However did you guess? At this point, since returning to school, I have read Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan, most of her juvenilia, Persuasion, and am in the middle of Mansfield Park, which leaves me with two books complete left, because I read Pride and Prejudice just before setting out.

Today seems to be both an opposite of days like 2004-08-29 and a repeat of the beginnings of my illness last semester. Having slept through the day, and being sleepy again now, I'm going to go to sleep and hopefully wake up around 6 tomorrow morning in order to do whatever homework I need to do for the day. I don't think I'm sick, because aside from being incredibly sleepy all the time I feel just fine, but if it persists, I'll go in. And this time I won't put up with what I got last time.

Aside from that, I've been persuaded to do the Hokkaido program. It does have this advantage, in that it counts for a year's worth of Japanese (which I am not looking forward to, but apparently it is the language that's important, rather than the country (which strikes me as being - hypocritical isn't quite the right word)) so I can get credit for that, and maybe move on to upper division classes if I feel like it. I'm not expecting to, because as I increase in proficiency I decrease in enjoyment of actually learning a language. In any case, the only other option that was really presented to me was a summer at ICU, and unless someone were to give me a really really good opinion of it, the general lack of a good opinion among everyone I know who's been and returned has confirmed me in wishing to avoid it. I'll probably apply to both, since I can and should, but between the two I'd rather do Hokkaido.

I wish I had the resolution to actually bring my misgivings up to people who could do something about it. But no, I'm so damn used to being always polite that complaint is impossible.

Looking through potential summer study-things in Japan and I come across a pretty nice one, from a school I've heard recommended. It's kinda short, and it's in Tokyo (for summers, that's a disadvantage due to heat), and my level of Japanese is beyond what they teach. I can bring it up, but the question is: is it the study of Japanese that counts, or the stay in Japan?

There's another program which seems pretty nice, and it's longer (11 weeks), but I'd have to leave directly from school and wouldn't get back till August 1st. It makes me a little wary. I think it's also in Tokyo.

Then there's the one in Hakodate, Hokkaido, which has been done by PO students before, but it seems to be all about the language (which is a down for me) and though being that far north means I'll avoid most of the heat, it also means I can't get in touch with the people in Nagoya I was supposed to stay with.

*yawn* I'm going to wrap myself up warm and try and sleep. Do homework in the morning. I'm exhausted.