*Quit it*
It's getting REAL annoying. You know who you are. Stop trying to break into my blogger account. You're NOT going to crack my password nor get it via email, because the directions are sent to MY email account.
So... QUIT IT. It's really annoying.~

*Happy Mooncake Day!*
No, the mooncake hasn't rolled off the face of this fine planet. I've been incredibly busy with a LOT of things. In between school, rediscovering my single life and applying for jobs... I've barely had time to breathe!
Loads has happened since my last post. I managed to snag a spot to observe a panel discussion of women world leaders on Discrimination Against Women and it was pretty awesome. I got to meet my God - Madeleine Albright. I always thought she would be big and tall in person, but she's sorta just average height. She's so incredibly intelligent though, and you can totally tell by the way she talks and addresses people. AWESOME!
I spent the weekend doing some work (bare minimum) and hanging out with friends. We went out for Middle Eastern food (Turkish?) on Saturday and had a fun time belly dancing WITH the belly dancer and smokin' those yummy Hookah Pipes. We hit Lobby next, and it's a really cool place. I loved the decor and the music... The company was great that night... I love you guys for getting me to go out!
Sunday, I joined this big Yoga thing in Central Park. It was pretty cool to be doing Yoga with a couple hundred other people in Central Park. Afterwards, I met up with some friends for a picnic lunch in the park... and Korean food for dinner in K-town.
Today... Hmmm.... I just signed up to write the Foreign Services Tests (The CANADIAN one, of course) in New York City. I only have one shot because my apps are due in November. I'm a little nervous, because I think the last big "test" I took of this sort... was the SAT.
I don't know what made me think to apply to work for the Canadian government... maybe it's the diplomatic status I'll get with the job... IF I get the job...
Mid-Autumn Festival today (Tuesday). Too bad the city's going to be hit by the after-effects of the hurricane. But we're still having a dinner get-together anyways.
Must sleep... Loads to do tomorrow. Hope you're all well out there!~

*Yum*
This breakup, I've turned to food... Not EATING food, but cooking food. Today, I managed to cook a surprisingly good pasta dinner in just 15 minutes! I made a bacon-eggplant-tomato sauce pasta (the only things in my fridge)... and it's such a yummy combination!
I'm surprisingly alright with the whole breakup, and not really feeling too sad.
Ick... Back to finishing my assessment assignment (what a mouthful)... Ta~

*Frazzled*
I dashed home after dinner with L. this evening. We went to Petrossian for dinner (very nice and swanky). Why did I dash home? Because I've discovered the online sample sale! You get to sit at home in your jammies and grab items to throw into your cart. Sounds good, doesn't it? Not really... as I found out tonight. Even though I got onto the VIP list and started shopping before the online store was open to public, it was still VERY frustrating due to the high volume of shoppers. I don't think their server could handle the transactions at that rate.
No more online sample sales for me. I got so annoyed with the waiting, I ended up just dumping my cart and not completing my check out because it took so long. I'm regretting it a little though... It was $20 for a cashmere sweater! You can't even get a regular sweater at the G*P for that! Plus free shipping and no tax!
Oh well... I'll just wait for the next sample sale to come around. It's French Connection at the end of the month!~

*Serendipity*
I've figured it out: It doesn't matter whether you're complete opposites. As long as you're committed to making it work, and know deep down that you're meant to be together... It'll work out.
On another note. I watched "The Corporation" yesterday with Rebekah. It was good, but just a tad bit too long. I'm on a bit of an indie-film kick right now. Who woulda thunk it?
After the movie, we went out for dinner with some new friends... and we went to this quaint little restaurant on the Lower East Side... A really nice little place called the Salt Bar. Then we went to SubTonic and sat drinking for a while IN a wine vat in a cellar.
I had a very "non-Olivia" sorta day yesterday. Very refreshing. I should do it more often...~

*New Page*
Back in New York now, with classes underway. It's great to be back in the city and hang with my friends here. There's something very comforting about my life here. I think for the first time, I'm surrounded by colleagues with the same vision and goals as I... and it's so fun to share in this learning experience with them...
I have a ton of writing to do this semester, plus... I think "nerdiness" is contagious... I'm auditing a class that has the most enormous reading list I have ever seen, but I'm really interested in the class, and the prof. is really sweet.
I've made new resolution to meet more people outside of school. I'm going to try and move on and have fun again.
A bit disjointed, this post is. I've just done so much in the week I've been back... but it's so difficult to articulate all that I've done and all that I've felt.
I'm going to be a better person by December... I'm promising myself that.~

*Game Over*
My last day in Fukuoka before I head up to Tokyo and back to my life in New York...
Chris and I are completely over. It's painful to have to go through this again, but I'm going to have to deal with it.
I don't know how long it's going to take to "get over" everything this time, but thankfully I know the reason why this isn't working out. I'm definitely hurting right now, but I think I'll be able to cope better once I'm back in New York.
With this, I'm going to bid adieu for now. I'm looking forward to seeing Y. in Tokyo and looking forward to getting my life back on track.
I need some time to think and be alone for a while. I'll be back posting again... maybe in a week or so.*

*Stormy*
Wow. Japan is jam packed with fun...
I woke up this morning to the rumbling of an earthquake. Nothing serious though, just a quick one, but big enough not to be mistaken for anything else.
On top of having an earthquake... a typhoon's headed this way AGAIN. Fukuoka was just hit by a huge typhoon (hurricane) last week, and another one is headed this way. It's picked up speed and changed direction, and it looks as though it's heading straight for us... and may hit us in the early morning hours. Chris and I meant to go off to the countryside and check out a ryokan and onsens, but the ryokan called this morning and gave us a heads up about the typhoon. We're just going to lay low in the city now and watch the gazillion movies we've rented.
I went to a Pachinko parlour this afternoon, and lost 5 dollars in less than a minute. I have no idea how to play that machine, nor do I see any way as to how people can get addicted to it. I then went next door and lost about 10 dollars on this magnetic-electric horse-racing game. It was fun, but I've decided that anything with instructions in a foreign language that I don't understand... I'm not going near again.
Fukuoka's fun. I did some shopping yesterday, but didn't really get much. I did, however, find what must be the ONLY Totoro store in Fukuoka. Heehee... I spent about an hour in that store... it's a tiny store too!
Time to go to the store and load up on ice-cream... I'll need the ice-cream to last me through the typhoon.*

*JAPAN!*
I've managed to get to Japan in one piece. The route from Hong Kong to Fukuoka was the most indirect route I have ever taken, and it took me 12 hours to get from point A to point B.
Fukuoka is everything I DIDN'T expect. For a city of this size, it's surprisingly quiet. What I mean is that there are cars and people EVERYWHERE, but it seems so quiet! It's even more obvious because I've just left Hong Kong (the busiest and loudest place imaginable).
I've already had the most yummy foods Fukuoka has to offer. On my first night here, Chris took me to the canal and we had Tonkotsu Ramen and Yakitori at a Yatai. It was REALLY good. And last night, we went to a little, traditional Japanese restaurant (something like a sushi bar) and had even better food there. Surprisingly, the food's not really expensive here. We ate a LOT of food, and it came out to about 20 USD. Yum... Japanese food...
I begin my shopping expedition today. I have found the best mall EVER, and I'm going to shop 'til I drop today. I've left one entire suitcase empty for my Japanese shopping...*

*I'm off! (again)*
All my bags are packed, and I'm ready to roll out of HK.
I'll be making my way back to NYC by way of Japan. In addition to making my usual stop in Tokyo, I'm also going to be visiting Fukuoka. It's going to be interesting, because I keep imagining that Fukuoka will be similar to Kwangju (where I used to live in Korea).
My suitcase is only half-full, a VERY surprising thing. I don't think I've EVER travelled with a suitcase this empty before. I've even got my computer in it... Very strange indeed... I think it's because I've decided to NOT bring shoes back with me to NYC. I don't think I have much room left in my closet there.
It's been a weird, disjointed kind of break. I think having travelled around this summer has made me a little restless and ready to get back to the city to do some work. As much as I love our new apartment here, I'm definitely ready to being back on my own again.
So... See y'all back on the other side of the world... SOON!~