I'm home in Sterling Heights. I really enjoy it here. It's relaxing. I went to the dermatologist today and then, Somerset Mall afterwards. They had some awesome sales going on. I got a pair of sunglasses, a belt, and a black sequenced clutch at Ann Taylor. I also got a bling bling over-the-shoulder bag at The Limited. (^V^) I couldn't hit up ALL the stores, cause I had to go home for dinner. I plan to attack it tomorrow as well, but I really need to stop spending money that I don't have!

For dinner, I had this humongous plate of Chinese vegetables. It was good, but I needed sugar. Natural sugar, that is! ;) I felt weak, cause I did not get enough sleep last night. I ate an odd looking pear that tasted like Asian pears and I also ate a persimmon. Both were delicious.

After that, I did my exercise. I was going to give myself a break today, but I stuck it out. Did my thang and it wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. Yay! I'm always happy when I end up just toughing it out.

My plans for tomorrow is get my prescription from CVS, go to the bank, and go to the Japan Club performance in Novi. Looking forward to seeing them play and meeting new people (hopefully!).

Yay! Today was the first Japanese Conversation hour this year. It was really really nice seeing all my JPN hour friends again. Chien Chien and Kellie came back from Taiwan. Chien got me the cutest bling bling ring and Kellie gave me a pineapple cookie kind of thing. It was delicious. I'm not going to think about how many calories it had. hahaha. Tasted like butter though. At conversation hour, I got more information about the Japanese speech contest from Grandy san. It's good to know a little more about it. He gave me a really good tip about being really passionate when giving your speech. I will definitely keep that in mind.

After convo hour, a bunch of us went to Bubble Island! I had a hot lite milk tea. Delicious as always. We played "Jenga", then cards, then Taboo. It was really fun~ I hope we do that again sometime.

I also had a great time at tutoring today. What made me feel so good was that my student said she really enjoys our time. That just made my day. It really feels good to know that they are enjoying their learning process with you! (^v^) I will try hard to help her and hopefully, we can become good friends.

Check out Raging Rouge's post about the awesome Bourjois Giveaway! Bourjois is one of my favorite brands. They have awesome lip glosses and portrays very cute style.

Ouch, ouch. My back is aching. I went to the first Fight & Rhythm this year. Boy, was it a good workout. My back is still aching. Tremendously. My thighs kill. Don't you love the burn? keke.

Anyway, today was not exactly a great day, but it wasn't so bad. :) Any day that is not a bad day recently can count as a good day for me! Ok, so the "bad" part was I forgot to bring my workout clothes to school. Therefore, I couldn't work out at IM West in between my LLT and JPN classes. I brought everything else! Damn it. Carrying that big bag for nothing! boo. Well, I guess it did lead to one good "discovery". I called Villa Montee to see if the gym is opened yet (they were remodeling) and they said yes! So, I went back to good ol' Villa Montee to do my workout. Found out that they have cable tv. kekeke. Score! I didn't have to just listen to music while running. The run today was hard though! My thighs were sore and I just wanted to give up so bad on the 20 minute mark, but I stuck it out. What got me through the run was my own reflection. Literally. I looked at myself in the mirror when I was dieing on the treadmill and I was happy with what I saw. I am fit! HAHA. Just thinking about how far I've come really motivated me to finish my run. So there you have it, I accomplished something today.

So, I went to meet up with my Japanese teacher after class to talk about my speech for the speech contest. I was really nervous about revising and rewriting, but she gave me some good guidance. Seriously, Japanese people just know how to do things in a systematic manner. Instead of throwing a bunch of information for me to do, she wrote it on my paper, with page numbers and due dates. That is exactly what I want from other teachers. Ironically, in TE, they just throw everything at you and you have to organize it yourself as if the work wasn't enough of a burden. Barg. Oh well, that's life I guess. I prefer the Japanese way. ;)

About the Japanese Speech Contest.....I'm not so sure I want to do it anymore! My professor wants me to add to it, revise it, etc. (-_-;;) I guess I am really challenging myself... ***sigh*** Tomorrow, I will meet with my professor after class to talk about it. I hate being in a small room with my teacher. It's weird.

I tried making Dani Spies' Black Bean and Green burrito yesterday. It was delicious! I did modify it a little, but I'm sure it would've been even better if I followed her recipe to the core. I love everything I have tried making from her food blog so far. What I like about it is the accessible ingredients she uses, her healthful attitude, and the delicious recipes!

Today was my first day back at my field placement for TE 402. Mrs.K was not in today, so we had a substitute teacher. It was Mr.K (her husband). The kids were pretty well behaved for the beginning of class, but it progressively got worse after break time. They were just so different when Mrs.K is not around. The funny thing is when the principal stepped in, it was even more quiet than when Mrs.K is around. Talk about presence and classroom management.

After a few days of debating, I decided to challenge myself by entering the Michigan Japanese Speech Contest! This is huge for me. I know that I will not win anything, but I really want to challenge myself. I want to know how nervous I will get and if I would be able to answer the panel's questions. I am getting nervous just thinking about it, but I am really excited about it too! I think no matter how it will turn out, I will feel that I have accomplished something as long as I give it 110%. (^v^) It will be on the 1st of March. Saturday of Spring Break. (yay!)

I think I am the only undergraduate that went to the library to do homework on a Saturday night (dork! I know!). At least I got a little bit accomplished. If I sat my butt at the apt., I would've surfed the net, ate, surfed the net, ate, well you get the idea. haha.

On Monday, it'll be my first day back in my field placement. I really like the kids, but I hate being there for 5 long hours. I don't know how teachers can go on for the entire day. I guess it's different when it's actually your class. I'm so tired now. I ate a Zingerman raisin bagel at the library. I was so hungry when I came home from the library and Meijer. SO, I ate some kashi crackers, raw almonds, and an organic fuji apple. Currently drinking some organic peppermint tea. I like it a lot. It's very soothing. mmmmmm. (^_______^)

Today was my first day of tutoring! It was great. I am very glad for being prepared. keke. I got paid on the spot because it's the "end of the week". (^v^) I quickly went to the bank and deposited along with Tom's check. Ayaka, Andrew, and I went to Bubble Island and chilled. I had a "buy two, get one free" coupon, so they "treated" me. (^v^) I got a warm lite milk tea. I got the warm, because Gillian McKeith said that if you are going to have dairy, at least have it warm so that it breaks down the molecules in order for it to be easier to digest. I think it's true, because I wasn't gassy at all after drinking it. I also skipped out on the bubbles. keke.

I discovered a singer name Kate Nash. She's quirky. I like what I hear so far. Her album is called, "Made of Bricks". I like her lyrics and quirky melodies. It's like a better version of Lily Allen.

I finally understand the reason behind 8 hours of sleep. It does make a difference. I was so used to the 4-6 hours before. I think it totally wore me out. For the past two days, I haven't slept as much as I would like. I performed poorly at the gym and felt completely exhausted today. Being in college really screws with your health. haha. Well, I guess being in college or having a 9-5 job would do that to you. I mean, the last thing you want to do after school or work is workout right? And to top it all off, you have cooking, cleaning, homework, errands, etc.

Speaking of which, I went to my "interview" for tutoring today. I think it went well. They seem to have high expectations and I think I will meet them. I will receive $15.00/hour but each session will only last an hour. I think in the long run, this is going to be really good for me. I will get so much experience this semester. This year, I am touching base on everything that I plan to do in the future (with the exception of my TE402 classes). I get to learn about pedagogical grammar and experience tutoring to ESL students. I really hope these two things will help me with the tutoring job as well.

Man, a few things I wanna get out. Sorta random, but whatev.
I just finished a YouTube movie called Four Eyed Monsters. It was alright. The people in the movie (also the creators of the film) were annoyingly too familiar to me. Struggling artists.... I applaud their efforts.

School on Wednesdays sucks. Two TE classes, both about 3 hours. Brain drainage. Couldn't even run for half an hour at the gym due to the stupid schedule. I hate it, but I have been doing good with eating I guess. Could be better if I was home.

Note to self: Make a time before you ask someone to do something, cause it never works out if they decide to ask a friend...and that friend can't take a hint.

Yesterday, I woke up at around 9:40 am. Went to the gym and library to print off an article. Came back and did absolutely nothing. I had that day planned for cleaning. haha. Who was I kidding? I need one of those "I'm so motivated to work" days. keke.

So, today was my first day of class for my final semester here at MSU. I had LLT (Pedagogical Grammar) at 8:30 am and then Japanese at 12:40 pm. With such a great gap in between classes, I took advantage of the time to go to the gym! I love it when I can get an in between class gym time, because once I am done with my classes, it means I am done for the day. (^v^) Mondays and Wednesdays are going to be a bitch though. **sigh** My LLT teacher is pretty cool. Young and funny guy. I can tell that it'll be a good class to look forward to 8:30 in the morning. Japanese class is Japanese class. haha.

A classmate of mine asked me questions about gyming, etc. No offense, but he's not going to make it. He is unrealistic of his goals. He needs to stop lying to himself. There is no way around it. Eat healthy and Exercise. I cannot stress that enough. Once you say "but" or "no time", just quit now. Cause you just set yourself for failure before you even dive into work.