Yamete kureyo.

Man, I cannot get accustomed to using computers with no Japanese input system. My flavah is messed, my style seriously cramped.

These last four months have been hellacious. I have never been more thankful to be back in America. After weathering a sudden 12-hour-early departure to compensate for snow delays, an incompetent travel agent (oops, did I say the hotel was five minutes away from Shinjuku? I really meant twenty lol! Oops, did I just sell you a completely extraneous ticket to Tokyo station when you could have boarded the same train at Shinjuku, thus saving you $5.00 and an hour of travel time? My bad teehee!) I have never been more happy to set foot in God's Owne Homelande.

Of course, I've also remembered that the only country I hate more than Japan is America (unless I'm in Japan, where the only country I hate more than America is Japan...). American customs officials are some of the most obnoxious, unpleasant people on the face of the earth, as I am reminded like a slap to the face every time I return home for Christmas. I had fifteen minutes to catch my connecting flight, which was eaten up (and then some) while the airport monkeys scratched their heads over my Irish flute and pennywhistes. (Hint: if there were no explosives in my bags when I departed from Tokyo, there's no way any could have got there while I was flying over the Pacific Ocean unless the Hand of God put them there, and if the Hand of God put them there, there ain't nuthin any of us mortals can do to stop him...) Of course, that flight was delayed, which was good, because I had to play security check/terminal marathon, because....

.....OH MY DEAR SWEET LORD I FORGOT MY CANON WORDTANK ON THE PLANE AND SOMEBODY STOLE IT. I may hate Japan at the moment, but the fact remains that had I forgotten the dictionary in Japan, it would have been turned in, not lifted by a flight attendant. I realised my error not fifteen minutes after disembarking. The guy at the JAL flight desk was very kind but nonetheless indulged in some Japanese-ish doublespeak. "They probably threw it out," my ass. You don't throw out a very sleek, expensive looking piece of electronics.

Even more horrifying than the anguish of having left about $400 worth of gadgetry on the plane is the fact that

I AM NOW DOOMED TO SPEND THE NEXT THREE WEEKS WITHOUT A JAPANESE DICTIONARY. ::WAILS; GNASHES TEETH::

I have no faith in my ability to weather this crisis with my sanity intact and am thus seriously considering driving up to the Windy City to purchase a new one.

My parents had installed new, $200 mirrored doors on my bedroom closet, which I managed to break in a jetlagged haze within two hours of arriving home.

Then, I discovered to my horror that a money order I'd sent home via registered mail last March arrived at my house yesterday. These money orders are only valid for three months after the date of issue. So:

March - December = -(nine months)

where -(nine months) = -800 USD.

But hey, at least it makes the $400 Wordtank look like chump change.

In a moment of brightness, my CDs were waiting for me when I got home, so I at least have over 15 hours of Irish music to help soothe my nerves.

That will be all.

Memeage

In the interests of full disclosure, I am a huge tarot fanatic. I bought my first deck at the age of ten, and own over twenty of the things now. So I had to gank this meme from firesign10.

You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Interesting because if I were to pick a card for myself (and I'm assuming that this meme only assigns cards from the Major Arcana), I'd have chosen The Hanged Man or The Fool. Still, I've always liked The High Priestess, so maybe the meme more accurately tests for which card you'd like to be.

Real entry to come later, after I try to sleep and can't.

That will be all.