Went back to work at The Book Place yesterday, I'm in Customer Service proper this time around, and so I spent a half-day yesterday in training. The rest of this week is half-day trainings as well. Unfortunately 99% of what I'm being trained to do I already know how to do, so it's a bit repetitive. But I'm getting paid to sit around and listen to someone talk, so I can't complain about that.

My Co-ML Hannah is also working there, which I think is going to be a lot of fun. She's such a great person and I really think she'll like the job.

I picked up my SH ID yesterday. I'm now official and can magically open locked doors with the power of my badge. What's super dorky is I'll probably swipe cards, just to see if I can get the doors to open. I'm on my ER shift starting next week, and I hope to start my First Aid/CPR/AED trainer training next week as well.

My living room looks like a storage unit vomited on it. I'm going through everything for a fund raising sale that I'm organizing for later in August, and trying to get some stuff together (six boxes so far, people) of stuff to donate to it. If you're local and have things that you want to donate to help our NaNoWriMo Region raise some funds to function this fall, send me a note and let me know. We'll come pick it up and your donation is tax deductible.

Crunchyroll and I are currently having a love affair. If you've never been to CR you should check it out. It's a site where you can stream all sorts off good stuff from Asia. Dramas, Movies, Anime, and they've got tons of it, so there is always lots of hot Asian guys...I mean, stuff to watch. All happy and subtitled so I know what's going on, which is pretty important I guess. I mean, when I'm paying attention and not drooling over the cute actors.

I've been watching Dramas all summer. There are so many pages of them that I feel like I'll never catch up. It's alright though, because most of it is better then 90% of what's on TV this summer anyway. The summaries of some of the shows are strange and vague at times, so I've found that watching the first couple of episodes is the only way to decide on if a series is worth finishing or not. Watch out for the comments too, they're often no help and full of spoilers.

If you're looking for something to start you out in the wide world of ADramas, I recommend these five, which are my current top five favorite of all time:

5) Nodame Cantabile - Adorable and funny JDrama about a student at a music school who falls in a crazy obsessive love with another student, and their struggles with life, school and their futures.



4) Devil Beside You - Girl gives love letter to wrong guy, girl falls for guy, girl finds out guy is future step-brother. Antics, angst, great acting and a sweet love story ensue. I'm a sucker for the romances, what can I say?



3) H2 - Unfortunately this has been removed from CR, but it's still a great story and if you can find it, I recommend watching it. Lots of good comedy, romance (sorry guys) and sports (there! See! I'm not a complete lost cause).



2) Hana Kimi (Hanazakari no Kimitachi e) - Mizuki Ashiya, a Japanese girl from America, idolizes Izumi Sano, a high jumper from Japan. He quits the high jump, however, and Ashiya decides to disguise herself as a boy to attend the all-boys school in Japan he goes to, and convince him to jump again. This one is too cute.




1) Hana Yori Dango 1 & 2 - Also been removed from CR (cry) but can be watched elsewhere if you're crafty with Google. This is my current all time favorite series. Both seasons are great. A story about a poor girl who attends a rich school and gets targeted by rich boys who run the school. It eventually develops into good time angst romance. Yay! Watch in small doses, otherwise your heart might not take all the crying and gooshyness.



I also recommend Lunch Queen, Nobuta Wo Produce, Attention Please, Great Teacher Onizuka and It Started With A Kiss and it's second season. So turn off the bad summer reality shows, and watch cute cute Asian Dramas. You'll thank me, I promise.

I'm off to finally get my ID badge made for the Red Cross, I also have a meeting to get all situated to start my training to be a First Aid/CPR/AED trainer. I'm very excited about it, I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

I have about five hours of emergency response training next Tuesday, which I think is going to be really interesting and informative. I've got 35 hours left after these five before I can be a national responder, which is my goal. Until then, I can do local and state response.

I worked canteen on Monday and I met a really nice lady who gave me the contact number for the State Hospital's volunteer coordinator. So what did I do? I called of course.

Anything to keep me busy and out of trouble, right?

I have Bookbyte training on Wednesday, so then I'll be back to work there. I need the money, and it's time to go back to work anyway. I'm sad that I'm losing all my volunteer time, but I'll just move everything back into the evenings and it should all work out.

So my Co-ML Hannah and I are running errands today to try and get the prep for Sunday's Off-Season BBQ of Awesomeness done. We think we're going with a luau theme, maybe. Nothing says fun like a bunch of neurotic (no, I don't really think you guys are neurotic) writers skulking around in grass skirts and coconut bras. It's going to be good times.

You can still join us if you're interested. We'll be in Bush's Pasture Park at 1:00 on Sunday, at the far end opposite the Crooked House Playground.

So I took a leap today and met with the person who would be my adviser for Biology/Pre-Med at a different college, and talked to him about getting away from the horrid, evil cesspool that is The Current College and transferring to theirs.

It was an amazing meeting. He was very supportive and genuinely interested, which is a complete 180 from the person who is 'advising' me now at TCC. All I've ever gotten from him is the feeling that I'm inadequate, unable to do it, and that he feels like I'm a waste of his time.

Just the general atmosphere of The Different College was lovely. It's a smaller school, so the class sizes are about five times smaller then TCC. I feel like I learn better in a class where the teacher knows I exist and actually cares that I'm there.

So he started a file for me (even though I'm not even enrolled) and said to get enrolled and that he'd meet with me again in a couple of weeks to figure out my classes and help me set up a plan. So, I'm putting in my application this week (I've already sent my FAid papers over) and then I'm going to formally withdrawl from TCC. I'm so excited about it, I feel so much better that TDC is the school for me.

He also eluded that I wouldn't have to transfer my one-term crap grades from TCC, which is awesome, because everything that I ever had to do with that college just needs to stay there, and they can suck it.