Advertisement
Published: July 27th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Ducks?
They don't like takoyaki :( This entry is dedicated to everyone reading this who continues to care and support me through the changes and different tangents my life takes.
I woke up yesterday morning around six am to the sound of gunshots. They weren’t interspersed, but rather came one after the other in a very terrifying fashion. Upon checking the news nearly an hour later I learned that six men had been shot and killed after the hours of ten pm Friday evening in the District of Columbia, and the gun shots I heard no doubt were the last in the string of murders before the killer was caught. The first thing my mother asked me after this was “do you want decaf coffee or regular?”.
This entire week has been very disheartening, and I have to confess that I almost gave up. I spent most of my days at the temp agency basically fulfilling the need of a file girl and desk clerk to help them catch up on work they were behind on. They had told me when I started the week that it would be a full-time position; that I wouldn’t have to worry about being shuffled around anymore. By Thursday
Ducks!
Pictures from my picnic at the lake a couple of weeks ago. I tried feeding the ducks takoyaki.. it worked a little bit. I had completed all they needed and they told me that I’d start back at IIE on Friday for a week. All the time that I was there they used this sort of underhanded lingo that made me realize they didn’t care about their clientele, nor for the people who were submitting their resumes. For phone calls on resumes you received one of two answers: that they would schedule an interview, or they would refer you to the senior recruiter. By Tuesday I had gotten very curious and decided to ask David, the person who is my case manager, just who the senior recruiter really was. He stood up and took me to the back room, and in the far corner was a stack of paper nearly waist high sitting beside a large machine - a shredder. On this shredder was a very simple note card that said “Senior Recruiter”. David then told me to get started on shredding all those resumes before I printed any more.
That simple task of shredding all those resumes really sucked the last drop of hope out of me. I had talked to some of those people on the phone, and had read
Escape artist
I miss Kansai Gaidai, and I especially miss randomly hopping out the windows through what they submitted; they were people just like me, some college students, some older, some who had just fallen on hard times, some who were extremely qualified. It made me feel lucky that I actually had been called in for an interview, but it also made me feel terrible for all those people who had false hope of a call back, who I knew would stop looking for a job since they thought the temp agency was going to help them. By Friday I was extremely glad to be back at IIE and seeing the smiling faces of Tiffany and Michelle, who were eager to give me things to do and find out how I was doing, to tell me about the two weeks I had missed out on. I’ve thought a considerable amount this week on different aspects of American institutions and American culture; Felix often asks me about these things or differences between America and Canada.. and it's amazing how different two places can be that are so close. Even the healthcare systems which we talked extensively about. If you want to hear anything about that or my opinions then feel free to ask. You know that
Kekkonshiki no Uta
One week to make this costume.. haha, I hope I can I’m always looking for serious conversation.
But then the weekend came, and things changed. David called me with Miho; we caught up, talked for a short while, and I sent myself off to get started on Sora’s wedding flowers. At first I was timid to get started since I wasn’t exactly sure how to work with gumpaste (It’s similar to fondant but at the same time not quite; this is my first time ever using it). But after I got the hang of stamping the flowers and getting them shaped.. I began to enjoy myself, and began to get back into the comfortable groove that I can call myself. From there I talked with Fred a bit, talked with Felix some, talked with braintwin extensively on skype in the evening. And though I still went to bed in some sort of down spirits things took a complete 360 degree turn this morning.
Nozomi and I have wanted to reconnect for a long time, or actually we've wanted to do a "kazoku chat" with she, Fred and I. She finally finished her exams and went back to her parents’ house, and we settled on this morning as the time
Cake decorating
I had to purchase all my cake decorating supplies again, so it will take a bit to get comfortable with them. In the long pan is over 400 hand-cut cherry blossoms that will decorate the cupcakes. Still working on the big flowers for the tiered cake. to talk on the phone and catch up. I can honestly say that I have not been so happy in months as I was in those two hours; I feel like my confidence is restored, that my determination has returned, and that I can take on the world and tell whoever says I can’t do it to take one for the home team. Really, it's absolutely amazing the power of hearing from people you love and respect dearly with how it can just make you feel renewed and alive. I needed that right now, I know.. It’s all because of the simple phrase “Dekiru yo! Oneechan, you can do it, I believe in you!”. I know that she means it whole-heartedly, and damn - if she can believe in me then why can’t I? So many other people as well believe in me right now, are supporting and encouraging me through everything. So why can’t I stand up for myself, and do what I know is going to make me happiest in the end?
It is with this renewed strength and confidence that I am going to apply for an open position at IIE and finally get away from
This is just awesome
...I want to make this cake one day. I want to make it >_< the temp agency. Even if I don’t get the job I am not going to let myself be taken advantage of any longer, nor am I going to sit back and let people do things I don’t agree with. I found a Swedish kyoukasho online as well that I plan to order as soon as my paycheck hits so I can resume studying Swedish, and I'm going to take a crack at Genki and Doumo to make sure my Japanese doesn't get any worse. I've finally decided I am going to take a stand for myself even if people say I can't do it; I know I can. I am going to make the income I need to get to Sweden. I am going to keep up my cake decorating skills, my baking skills, so that when I do get there I can do my damnedest to find a culinary position. I am going to kokuhaku even if my feelings aren’t returned. I can’t afford to not be myself any longer, or not live the dreams I believe so fiercely in.
Today and this week I'm going to work on the cupcakes, as well as get things ready for Otakon and submitting my resume tomorrow. There's a long week ahead of me, as well as the next few months. Dekiru yo! Miho also gave me a Japanese name this week. She said that since David and I look alike now that I should be "Akiko" since he is "Akira". I really love the name Keisuke, but.. do you all think Akiko suits me? :P
Advertisement
Tot: 0.071s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 10; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0475s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
vnano
vnano
Is decaf-coffee that big in USA that your moms asks you about it? Who... why would anyone want decaf-coffee?!