So, Yah! Summer's here:)

I did really well in school and I've got 2 jobs. One is for a securities firm north of where I live (they deal with stock brokers who cheat their clients and/or wrongful termination of the broker by his/her employer). The other is for a criminal defense and civil litigation firm downtown (south of me). It's only been 2.5 weeks, but I think I've learned more in these past weeks than in all of law school!.

I like working and keeping busy!^_^

I also LOVE being 21!^^ I can finally go out and hang with my friends. I found that I like to dance even though I'm pretty horrible at it!^_^

I want to visit Heather in the Caribbean and actual go SCUBA diving this time! And visit Europe and Australia/New Zealand and see everyone:) And of course go back to Japan and wallow in self pity at how atrocious my Japanese has gotten--I swore I'd never forget it!^^

I'm hoping to eat healthier and exercise---what a great plan--I've only had it for, what is it now, almost my whole life!^^ But, this year will be different (*I always say that*).

My younger sister is graduating from the 8th grade on Thursday--I can't believe it! And my little brother is going to San Marcos state this coming fall (about 40 min north of my mom's and 20 min north of where I live)--and he's moving into the dorms! yikes!

Hope everyone has a super cool summer:)

Ryoko came to visit her friend in Portland, Oregan for a few days and came down to Los Angeles for a few days!^_^ She's almost been working for ANA for 1 year. She only gets 18 days off a year and she combined 12 days for this trip!>< I hope she had a relaxing time:0

I went to visit her in Santa Monica (Los Angeles...about 10 minutes from Venice beach) on Sunday! It was SO nice to see her again. We ate, talked and walked around venice beach for a bit! It was so fun:) She seems to lead a busy life, but enjoys it for the most part!^_^ I can't wait for her to be able to do international travel--yah:)

And then, that sunday night, my dad's brother and his wife came to visit for the day. They were vacating in LA from detroit and so they drove down to say hi!^^ It was nice seeing them again too, we hardly ever meet!

Anyway, I was happy to see Ryoko again and really want to go back to Japan!^_^ Maybe over my spring break? It's a bit expensive though, but it'd be ah, so pretty!^_^

Oh, I had an interview for a job over the summer at an immigration firm that seems really cool to work for, so I hope I get another interview!^^ Then I have 2 more this week and 1 more to be scheduled! I hope I get a neat job:)

Hope everyone is not too cold (or hot~_^)...

Yah

Here's a picture of Ryoko:)



Here's a pic of a dragon made out of sand:

Marianne came to visit me--yah!^_^ She came Wednesday night and on Thursday we drove to Tucson, Arizona to visit her friend!^^ It took about 6 1/2 hours. We saw the Sonoa Desert Museum--it had lots of pretty views and educational areas and animals...it was a fun place to visit---oh and lots of cacti!^_^

Then we had a potlock with Mexican food at her house with a bunch of her friends which was super fun!^_^ She was so nice and so was her daughter....and lets not forget about the cutest long tailed black cat who was so social!^_^

Then the next morning we left early to the Grand Canyon. We stopped in Sedona, Arizona which is famous for it's red rock and saw the views and then headed toward the canyon. We got there about 3:30 and the sun set around 5:00pm. We checked into our hotel and wandered around the South Rim entrance area and saw the pretty sights. It was cold though...it had snowed a week ago, but it was so cold the snow was still there!--a couple of inches worth.

Then in the morning, we woke up early to see the sunrise! It was so cool and dark! It was a bit cloudy, so we didn't see the sun right away, but it was still breathtaking to see the canyon and the light from the clouds...it was so pretty. We were out waiting for about an hour in 15 degree Fahrenheit weather, but it was so worth it!^^

Then we drove back towards San Diego. We took a short detour on Route 66 and went through the Mojove Indian preserve...it was huge and we could see the bottom of the mountains right next to us. As we were driving, we saw the mountains from a far and thought they were so cool, but to actually drive through them was another story...it was AWSOME!^_^

We saw some weird country sites too....like in Wonder Valley...each house had their own street named for their house...and there was a street sign every 50 feet or so...it was so funny! The houses mostly were shacks and not well maintained, yet they had a whole street named just for their house.

We came back to San Diego and met up with Oi-Kay and Rose for dinner at the curry house and had yummy Japanese style curry!^_^ Went to Wal-Mart for a bit, headed home and wided down.

I had so much fun on this road trip---in fact this was my first one!^_^ And with Marianne to boot! Shiawase desu!^_^ It was also my first time going back to Arizona since I was born...so much fun!

Happy LATE Merry Christams and I wish everyone the best for the new year!^_^

Sorry, I've been absent lately...I was super busy studying for finals and then Heather and my grandmother came for a visit, so it's been busy busy busy:)

And we all got sick this winter (the whole family)--which never happens, so we were all a bit grouchy, but it was interesting!^^

I hope eveyone had a grand christmas^_^

I got some depressing news yesterday>< Law Review sent me an e-mail telling me that have been removed due to lack of good faith compliance wiht the techinical requirments of my submission. I've submitted my petition contesting this, so we'll see....but it's sort of depressing.

I keep fighting with my Step-mother over my little sister, so that's stressful too...and made yesterday even more stressful.

I'm kind of over it today and I hope it works out.

Everything's fine here now. We're back home and the dogs are very happy!^_^ Now, we just have to put everything bakc where it came from...the joys of packing and unpacking!^^

The fire seems mostly contained and they suspect that by halloweeen *oct. 31* the fire should be all containted...yah!^^

Thanks for all your support! I was pretty freaked out, but you guys helped a lot! Arigatou!

SAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (if not a little late....gomen!><)


I hope you ate lots of cake and candy and good food!^_^


Lots of love from San Diego!^^

There's a huge fire storm in San Diego County. There's about 12 different fires here and all the houses a block from us have been evacuated. Alot of schools are closed (but not mine...but I didn't go) and over 12,000 acres have burned and 250,000 people have been evacuated. It's crazy here...the airs bad and there's soot everywhere. Our family has packed up our belongings in the car, so hopefully we're all set. I think the latest is that we're on voluntary evacuation, but the fire's still about 20 minuets away north and east and further away south.

I hope everything turns out okay....my eyes have been glued on the televison....

I'm officially done with all my mid-terms....thank god!!! I have one more deadline for my paper by Thursday (and of course I haven't had time to start, but that's what tomorrow and Thrusday mornings for??--hopefully I can make it:))....then I get a free weekend!^^ Well, one w/ no "deadlines"!!! So excited!^^

Oh, Toshiki called me on Monday...it was so nice to hear from him:) He just went on a week holiday to greece!! It sounded exciting! I did however realize that my Japanese sucks...that's what you get for not practicing for a year and half..no? I need a language partner or something....:( It gets me depressed just thinking about it....

On the up side, I applied to 30 firms so far...still gotta to do way more and I'm kind of late, but hopefully one of the international ones will hire me so I can go to Japan...well I'm just hoping one firm will hire me...It's hard to get a summer associate, especially since I go to a lower tier school>< yada desu...

Oh, and it's finally getting cooler here!^^ It rained yesterday and it was cool today and sunny:) The weather changed so fast, it was like it was summer one day, rained out of the blue, and wham, it became cooler...bukimi da ne??

Anyway, I want to know what everyone's been up to????

Hey,

Guess what? I've found a topic! Yah! It's Japan and copyright....now it's on to more reserach. I've been busy working and making money...

I saw my dad yesterday, whom I haven't seen in a while b/c when he comes to visit, I'm either busy or he is. It was okay....I cleaned his oven and grill...so it was interesting. We don't really have much to talk about...


Heather's doing okay. She has one hectic schedule and I can glady say that I'm so GLAD to not be in her situation!^^ She still won't go shopping, but...oh well.

Midterms and paper deadlines are coming up for me, so it's study study.

I really want to practice Japanese! It's been more than a year now and all written kanji has plummeted and my language is bleh....tis life...no practice makes no perfect!^^

I hope everyone's enjoying a reprive from the sun now that summer's officially over (or, if you live downside, it should be getting hotter!^^)

Hehe...I feel so special.....I got a package from a little birdie in Switzerland....a really neat pillow case (ah, it' PURPLE...and I color I often don't see...I don't even know what color to call it? How about the "COOL" color??? ^_^) And a card full of cherries....so perfect:)

You really brightened my day....arigatou!^_^


As for Heather, she found her luggage and has been stressing about school, but I'm sure once she has her first tests (all 4 right after each other on the same day), she'll know what to study for and be less stressed.

I sumbited my thesis proposal last weekend, but I think I'm going to have to re-think it. My issue was too controversial and too much time would have to be expended to legitimize my reasoning...and it's an unfavorable position so firms may not want to hire me....Ah, having to think about consequences of my actions isn't so fun!^^

But, I'm sure to think of something else soon:)

I hope you guys are doing okay and it's not too HOT! We've had a bad heatwave here>

OMG! I can't believe it. Heather left Sunday morning to St. Maarten>< When she got there, they lost of of her bags...the one with all her clothes (and underclothes) in it!!!! She called me all distraught and I felt horrible. She's been so stressed and no one seems willing to help her. She can't even find a store to buy underwear and she's been busy w/ orientation stuff.><

To boot, she paid $130 to spend 7 hours in a hotel when her dorm room was open even though they said it wasn't. She's been getting ripped off by taxis and is overly stressed!!! I feel like such a bad sister. It seems like most of the other student's families went with their kids and they have 'family' type events all the way up until Thursday when actual classes begin!!!><

I'm going to send her a care package tomorrow...it may take a bit to get there though>< I just can't beleieve it happened....

^_^_^_^_^

On Friday night, Heather, my dad and me flew to Detroit, Michigan to see my grandmother. I haven't been since I was 5, so I don't remeber it at all!^_^ It's BEAUTIFUL! and so GREEN! I got to see my uncle Bob and my uncle Sheldon whom I haven't seen in Forever!!! I also got to meet my dad's best friend since high school!!! He took us "tubing" on the lake behind his house!^_^ I had never been to a lake before and had never been tubing. (The boat pulls you while to hold on for dear life to an inflatable tube/raft)---so fun!^_^ I even got Heather to go!^^ (She said she didn't want to get wet...so I accidentaly spilled water on her and managed to convince her to go and have fun!^_^=---I'm the evil twin)

Last night, we decided on sort of a whim to drive to Canada to see Niagra falls. I drove and we made it to London (about half way) and this moring we'll drive the rest!!!!!!! I CAN"T WAIT!!!!!

Tanoshimi!

I hope you guys are well and that it's not too hot!^_^

Ah, another LATE update!!!!! GOMEN!!!! I can't believe how busy I've been....that's way out of character for me!

Let's see...since I last upadated here's the news:

I had 2 weekends filled (9am-10pm) each day to get SCUBA certified!!! The first weekend was the pool and the second was La Jolla shores and the Los Coronados islands (in Int'l water)---that was COOL!!!! I wish I took pictures--may fav. was the juvenille garibaldi (like a huge pretty goldfish w/ shiny blue spots at the end....the younger they are, the more blue they are!)

I got a second job w/ my Contracts Professor doing reserach and helping him w/ the upcoming semester...I like it a bunch!^^

My maternal grandparents, my aunt and my two cousins came in from Henderson (near Las Vegas), Nevada and I just spent the whole weekend eating lots and going to Sea World.

I also went to the jewelery mart and garmet district in Los Angeles...I got a cool shiny silver walet and new shiny sunglasses.

And lastly, yesterday, I just got back from the circus w/ my family. It wasn't as cool as I thought (probably b/c I just got back from China), but my family liked it!^^

Speaking of China, here's some pics!^^

Heather and I at the top of the great wall:


The weird snacks they sell: live scorpions, starfish, and bugs on a stick:


The Llhama temple (most colorful) in Beijing:


Heather and at at the good luck temple in Hangzhou:


Heather and I out front of the Shanghai museum:


Shanghai silk embroidory painting ($3,000)


Terecotta warriors in xi'an

Wow! It's been so long since I posted!>< I wanted to wait to post until I found my camera to upload my pictures, but at the rate it's going, I'll never update!^_^

China was a blast. I had school for 3 weeks in Hangzhou and then we traveled to Beijing and Xi'an. I saw the great wall and the terecotta warriors. Also, I shopped a lot!^^ Beijing's shopping is a bit (okay, overly) pricey and it was hard to find "night markets" (selling goods outside-like a flea mkt), but it was fun. Beijing also has a famous street that sells everything on a stick--including scorpions (LIVE ONES!!).

The bathrooms took a lot of "getting used to." It was quite a culture shock to go, the traffic was amusing and live threating at the same time, and people spit everywhere. It was fun to haggle though and to people watch, well kind of. I didn't like being the person they always stared at, but I kinda of got used to it. Plus, it was fun seeing them almost crash their bike's because they weren't paying attention to where they were going.

Overall, it was an exciting trip and I have learned from my experience in Xi'an that tours are BAD (way overcharged us...mean...ugh), that China's not that dangerous, and you really can take public transportation (we took the public bus to the great wall-what a trip!^^)

Oh, and last weekend, Heather, Alison, Diane and I all went to the Del Mar Fair (I hadn't been in 4 years). It was okay, I wanted to keep looking, etc., but every 20 minutes Alison would have some sort of ailment and every time Diane would "fix it." Alison would complain that she was hungry, so she bought her ice-cream. Then her neck hurt, so she just had to get a massage (they had massage stands-expensive though). I don't know, she was just having a whiny day and I've never seen my step-mom cater to anyone before. I guess having Heather and I away closened their bond so that Diane turned into a smother-mother that spoils her already spoiled and mis-behaved kid.

Oh well!^^ That's life. But at least I had fun in China w/ Heather!^_^

And I just stared my internship w/ the Legal Aid Society observing my boss helping people answer their unlawful detainer's (ldld wants them out) and getting temporary restraining orders. It's really very interesting.

I hope that all you guys are doing well^^

I just finished my last final yesterday (it was sugoi muzukashi!, but it's over~)!^_^ I'm glad I'm done and now all I have to look forward to is the grades!^^

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for China, so I don't know how much internet time/access I'll have but I'll keep you guys updated!^^ (It's 12 hours ahead of me, so when it's 3am here it's 3pm there...weird!^^) My computer's still screwy, but hopefully when I get back I can fix it!^^ I haven't practicedt he language at all and I know near to nothing about the culture...but that's what today's for and packing;)hehe. I'm excited (of course about the school part) and nervous about going, but I think it'll be a good experience.

I'm also not sure if I want to go. I got some bad news yesterday that's kind of put me off. I hope I decide soon, I only have a day:)

Happy Happy B-Day Carole!^_^ I hope that you're getting stuffed full of cake and ice-cream^_~

And, Thank you Marie for my wonderful card!^_^ I love the rose sented Abura papers...and the packaging:)^_^

As for me, I'm taking my finals now. On Monday I had my first one on Property. I usually type my exams, but my computer decided it didn't like me and it wouldn't work for the exam>< I spent 15min of my exam trying to get it to work...I was very distraught...but I'm semi-over it now. I had to write it and I filled up 2 blue books...The key to this exam was organizaition, and no stream of consiousness, which I tend to do if I write, but hopefully I did ok:)

Tomorrow I have Civil Procedure, so I have to get studying!^_^ Then I have contracts and torts next week and that Friday morning I fly to SF and then the Beijing...to Hangzhou!!! OMG! I'm so not ready...I keep telling myself I'll study Chinese...but I haven't had time><

Plus, my computer's not working....The sound doesn't work so I can't skype or try and learn chinese><

But enough of complaints....I'll do super on my finals!^_^

Hope you guys are enjoying the summer-ish weather (winter for some!^_^)

Thank you Haraamis for my WONDERFUL NEW USER PICS:)^_______________________________^

They're so cool...yamapi...jin...and nagase....life's good! Kakkoi!

Arigatou!!!!

THANK YOU SAKURA59 for my b-day gift!^_^ It was super cool and chocolaty!^_^ I love the little choclate poem book...it's very cute!^^ And I already ate one of the choclates....Oh, and the soap smells wonderful! I hope to use it when my current supply runs out!^_^

Let's see: a chocolaty poem:

When sensible people see chocolate

They just think "fat thighs and fat bum"

But all I can think of is how it will taste

As it melts on the tip of my tongue

by Purple Ronnie

As for me, I've just finished my torts outline (I have to revise it though><) and I'm working on property and civil procedure now>< I can't wait till exams are all over, but until then, ganbarimasu!^^

Two days ago Heather and I celebrated my birthday!^_^ She made me a really cute glitter sign that says Happy Birtday and cute sayings!^_^ Then she gave me a cute card w/ a cat w/ purple eyes on the front and on the inside she put a whole bunch of pop up sayings and pictures. They're all Johnny's or American actors. The pop up has a saying, you open it up and there's a pic of the star and another saying! Too cute!^_^ I got a cool purple bathrug and toilet seat cover and some other ammentites!^_^ Heather also got me a Johnny Depp pillow case!^_^ kakkoii!!!

I want to thank eveyone for their warm wishes and gifts!^_^ Shiawase desu!^_^ Thanks for the MSN message Haaramis!^_^

I recived Ryoko's card...a red rose card and some cute purple hair pins!^_^

Oh, for our birthday we went out to Ming Court with my family and had really good chinese food!^_^ And I finally finished HYD 2!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!! I LOVE MATSUMOTO AND OGURI SHUN!^_^ Loved the story to pieces!^_^