I'm baaaaack!

...Okay okay okay. I've actually been back for an undisclosed number of days. However, seeing as how the privacy of my blog has been somewhat compromised in regards to my workplace (damn you, MySpace!) and seeing as how I have been hiding out from my workplace since my secret return to Seattle an undisclosed number of days ago, I have been holding off on blogging about how FREAKING AWESOME OUR TRIP TO JAPAN WAS AND HOW I AM NOW FULLY CONVINCED THAT I DO NOT WANT TO DO ANYTHING WITH MY LIFE BUT PLAY MUSIC, TEACH MUSIC AND TRAVEL THE WORLLLLLD!!!

Step 1: Begin hatching ways in which I can quit my dreary, stress-filled, life-overtaking job and still manage to be able to pay for things such as electricity, food and a roof over my head without sending pathetic emails to the parental units and computer-genius brothers. Check.

Step 2: Determine that the best plan of attack, which I should have started, oh, back in September, is to launch a full-scale attack on the young clarinet-wielding student population in the greater Puget Sound area in order to lure them into taking private lessons with me. Check.

Step 3: Buy some fancy-schmancy resume paper on which to print out 50 thousand copies of my resume. Check.

Step 4: Spend the greater majority of the afternoon online designing and ordering unbelievably cute yet professional business cards, with matching refrigerator magnets and post-it note pads to give to prospective clarinet students. Check!

Step 5: Await arrival of aforementioned unbelievably cute yet professional business cards with matching refrigerator magnets and post-it note in the mail. Meantime, finish off this blissful Week of Hiding Out From My Workplace as I Attempt to Win the Battle Against Jet Lag and go back to work on Monday where I tough it out until I can complete my full-scale attack and build a studio of a target twenty students. And then I can move on to the part of my life where I am actually happy and content doing what I am doing and can feel like an actual musician again. Sigh...check soon?

Anyhoo, speaking of jet lag: it is officially kicking my butt this week. On our way to Japan we met at Sea-Tac at about 10am, departed at 1:30pm and landed in Narita at about dinnertime local time. Then we had to take a 2-hour bus ride across Tokyo to the Haneda airport where we caught another plane that took us to Kobe. From there we took a bus to Osaka. By the time we got to our hotel for the night, it was nearly midnight local time, meaning it was about 8am Seattle-time. Long story short, we were beyond exhausted, and falling asleep right away and, consequently, waking up on schedule the next morning was not a problem.

On the return flight, however, we departed Tokyo at about dinnertime and arrived back in Seattle at 10am. So we were tired when we got home and couldn't resist the urge to take a quick 6-hour "nap" in the middle of they day which, of course, led to not being able to fall asleep at night, staying up til 5 in the morning watching informercials until you finally doze off, and then repeating the entire cycle over again for an undisclosed number of days. Case in point: last night, as I sat on the couch wide-awake cursing the fact that there is no more good television at 4 in the morning, I gave in and popped a couple of ExcedrinPMs. This, unfortunately, resulted in my falling asleep on the couch and sleeping until 2 in the afternoon. Damn! I'll try the snoozy pills again tonight -- perhaps at a more reasonable hour than 4am -- and see if I can get back on schedule sometime this weekend. Because I have to go back to work next week. Ugh.

Anyway, I'm working on getting my photos posted on this blog soon. I've uploaded them on Flickr, so if you've got a Flickr account, let me know and I can add you onto my contacts list. Otherwise, watch out for my next post as it should (hopefully) be pictures of the Japan Tour!

*******

ps. On an unrelated note: Blades of Glory opens tomorrow and I can't wait to see it. Will Ferrell plus Olympic Ice-Skating? Yes please!!

Gah.

Can someone please tell me why I cannot find one freaking fitted, long sleeved, non-hoochie black concert top to bring to Japan??!! Our tour takes us through the more rural areas of Japan, which warrants more conservative concert wear (i.e. I am not allowed to wear pants. Or show my elbows apparently. Boo....) and I spent a good two hours speed-walking through the entire Alderwood Mall and couldn't find anything that wasn't either too hoochie or too granny. Ugh. And seriously, since when is everything made with a 3/4-length sleeve? I just need something that looks semi-decent that has sleeves that go to my wrists and a neckline that doesn't show any bosom. Ich bin sehr frustrated. Don't even ask me how long it took me to find an ankle-length black skirt.

God, I hate shopping.*


* Except for smokehouse almonds and men's socks, that is. Both of which I bought at Target after my anxiety-inducing trip through the mall. Huzzah!

TGI to the F.

Dear God, it's been a while since I've updated. And really, what better time than 9pm on a Friday night for a 26 year old to stay at home, sit on her couch while watching Comedy Central and update her blog...

*sigh*

Anyway, let's see...what random pointless current events can I share wit chu...

Oh yeah: so a few days ago at work, one of the print department underlings came to me for help locating a certain book. As she stood next to my desk looking over my shoulder, I started searching this music search database on my computer. However, instead of typing "Sax" into the search field, I inadvertently typed "SEX." And then before I could backspace it away, I noticed that she was looking at what I had typed and we both kind of just looked at each other for a split second trying to process in our brains what the proper workplace protocol is for a situation such as this, but before I could think of anything non-embarrassing to say, I just blurted out, "WHOOPS! FREUDIAN SLIP!! HAW!!" What a weirdo. Good thing she just went with the flow and laughed along with me.

Oh, and hey, you know what's more fun than Catholic guilt? Filipino guilt. Case in point: On my way home from work tonight I stopped at Rite-Aid to buy some anti-boy-poop candles for the bathroom. I was standing in line at the check-out counter when I heard an older couple speaking with a familiar accent behind me. As I turned around to smile at them, the older man said to me, "You look Filipino." I smiled and said, "I am." After a brief awkward silence that smacked of impending judgement, I added, "I was born in Manila, actually." And then came the inevitable, "You speak Tagalog?" to which I hung my head in shame and replied, "I can understand it, but I can't speak it anymore." And for the next five minutes I had to stand there and nod my head repeatedly in penitence while listening to "1987? You moved here when you were seven and you can no longer speak Tagalog? My niece was seven when she moved here and she speaks Tagalog..." Oy. Thankfully, before any more could commence the post-pubescent Rite-Aid cashier saved me from my guilt-ridden misery and I gave the man one last polite non-Tagalog-speaking smile and went on my merry way with my sweet-smelling anti-poop candles.

And one last thing: Next week Scott and I will be going to Japan for two weeks! Huzzah!! UW Wind Ensemble 6-concert Japan Tour, to answer your question. Wooo!!