stephaniehaywood.com

So it has been awhile since I last added something to my webiste. It’s a lot of work you know. Adding stuff to a website. Maybe not to all the computer people out there, but to me, it takes a lot of time and effort on my part. Writing something is not hard at all, but YOU don’t want all the writing do you? I know that most of you who read this skip the writing almost altogether and only come to the website to scroll down to the pictures. The pictures take a long time to add on you see. First, I have to go through and choose what pictures I want to show you, these pictures have to be interesting and fun for you to look at. Then I have to export them out of iPhoto through Mail (Because I am ghetto and do not have Photoshop yet… computer people will understand that, if you do not, please move on…) Once I have the pictures I want sitting in an email in front of me, I have to right click them, rename them (For me this IS necessary), and then save them to the desktop. After that I have to go online and upload each file into the new entry. Then I have to write something about the pictures, so you will understand what the pictures are about, and when I have finished, I usually try to re-read everything to make sure I didn’t have a trillion spelling errors, which is a common mistake for me. (I do apologize if I don’t always make it to this step, for after a while I become tired and give up, thus creating a work of writing that contains several stupid mistakes, which make me look half my intelligence level.)

And usually it’s not even all the work that goes into the new entry, it’s the thinking. YOU MAKE ME THINK! I not only have to give you pictures and a sometimes a video, as well as explaining what is occuring in the pictures, I also feel the need to give you something interesting to read, something you will enjoy while you sit at your computer, and are putting your time and effort into coming to my site. I feel guilt if the entry is not up-to-par. I also have a big internal issue dealing wit laughter. I strive to make what I write on my website funny. If it does not make one person laugh, I have failed in a way. I know I should not feel this way, and sometimes I do not. But it does explain my lack of cool “stuff” in the recent days, in a way.

My last, and most recent problem is “What to write”. When you are in a foreign country, everyday something happens, everyday you see something that interests you, everyday you find yourself saying “wow”. Take those little moments and times those by ten, and that is what I experience everyday. So much is going on, that I never know where to start. It eats away at me. Which is why I take pictures of everything. I will leave Japan with my mind full and my photobook fuller (new word). So this is what I will give you today, some random thoughts, tomorrow I will work on getting some pictures online, but until then, those of you who skip over the writing, you may leave at will, for the rest of you, read on…

1. Take off your shoes. This is something that is becomming so natural to me that I didn’t even realize that I didn’t mention it online until someone I told was shocked when I mentioned it. Take off your shoes. When you walk into a building, you take off your shoes, leave them at the door. When you eat at certain resturants, you take off your shoes before you sit at your table, which contains no chairs, only cushions. When you walk into your dorm room, if you are Japanese, you should take off your shoes before you take that little step up into your actual room. Noel’s roommate always left a pair of slippers in the hallway area, as well as in the dorm room. He would change shoes no less than three times between when he entered the building, and when he stepped foot into his bedroom.

2. You sleep in your car. It happens everywhere, it is becomming such a normal thing here that I don’t even look or think twice. All over the place, we see people in cars off the side of the road, with their feet up, eye’s closed, and their mouths wide open. You also almost always leave your car on when you sleep in your car. Noel and I have asked many people about this, Japanese or not, and no one has really given me a concrete answer to this question. The best one I got was that people that are on their lunch break go sleep in their car. Apparently, it’s the cool thing to do.

3. On Saturday and Sunday, you take your family to the beach, you have a cookout, you go swimming, and you set off fireworks. You leave late at night and go home, but you stay there ALL day.

4. You scream IRASHIAMASE!!!!!!!!! AT LEAST TWO THOUSAND TIMES when you work… ANYWHERE!

5. If you are girl, you wear heels. You wear heels with everything. Jeans - heels. Shirts - heels. Shorts - heels. A jogging outfit - heels (well not really… but sounded funny)

6. If you are the train driver, you must raise your arm at every green light you see along the way, even if you have to raise you hand a total of 199 times during one train journey, you will raise you arm, and point your finger at that green light. I apologize that I cannot explain this that well online, but talk to noel or i, and when we get back, we will demonstrate it for you.

7. Noel’s birthday is FRIDAY. That is THIS FRIDAY. Everyone that knows Noel should wish him the best birthday ever, send him an email, give him a call on his business phone and leave a message, but at least, in some way, wish him a happy birthday. He deserves it.

8. I made tacos tonight. They were good. I made them. And they were good. This is a giant step up in Stephanie’s cooking.

9. Noel made the guacomole. (Spelling?)

10. I am avoiding my homework. Which is why I am desperately trying to think of something to write, so that that I will not have to face it. It is evil.

11. People need to email Stephanie. Stephanie needs emails. She will write you back. She promises. She will even write you back in first person. So long as you email her…

12. I have reached the point where my mind is empty. I am sorry for this. I will go try to do that homework junk, and get some rest. Pictures tomorrow, okay? I promise.

13. Goodnight. Good Afternoon to all of you.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 12th, 2004 at 10:23 am and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.