It may be a slight exaggeration, but I created this as a reminder for me to turn off the modem and get a life! And maybe clean the house occasionally.
I should be starting back at work soon so I'm hoping the routine will help me spend my time a little better. Life has too many opportunities out there to be wasting time instead.
As John Bytheway said to the youth about average time wasted on his CD Turn off the TV and get a life: "Think of the songs you could learn, the free-throws you could shoot, the books you could read, the pictures you could draw, the children you could play with, the mountains you could climb, the merit badges you could work on, the YW awards you could earn, the journals you could fill, the things you could build, the scriptures you could memorise, the testimonies you could strengthen, the people you could serve, the lives you could change - including your own...or you could watch TV for a thousand hours a year."
That talk was written pre-Facebook and Pinterest times, but I think he'd have a lot to say about those today!
So feel free to 'pin' or share this meme if you can relate. And then close down Pinterest and Facebook and go do something! :)
Here is some more of my recent meme creations on display for your viewing pleasure :) You can either scroll down and read the memes first, or you can read the description for each first - it's up to you!
The following meme is based on true events. You know when you meet someone (especially of the opposite sex) and then the same day you search for and find their Facebook page and take a look through their info and photos? Well as I found myself doing this, this meme formed in my mind:
Recently I was delighted to get a "meme request" from one of my friends, who said she loved the "one does not simply" memes and hoped I'd create one of those soon. So I thought, "challenge accepted" ;) I did some research into the meme and it's best uses, and then in trying to think of some way of using it, I came up with this one, about the fine art of meme creation:
Then I did come up with something that I found funny. I was going to include "In Hobart YSA" in the top line, but thought I'd keep the meme generic and simply explain it's origin here. You see, back home I was part of a community known as Hobart Stake "Young Single Adults" or "YSA". I'm not sure what it's like in different YSA groups around Australia or the world, but being a fairly small group, where everyone feels they already know each other, there's not as much dating, or invitations for dates, as some would like. It's a point of much frustration for some. And then there's the reaction sometimes that a date is a HUGE thing and you can't go on a date unless you're already in love with someone. Because of such stigma, it sometimes seems one must first do a lot of elaborate behind-the-scenes planning before even contemplating asking someone on a date.
Basically all this makes dating hard, and I felt leads to this kind of mentality within the group:
And lastly, this one is again based on true events! It's a Mormon specific joke. We have what's known as "visiting teachers" assigned to all women in the church, basically it means we look out for each other and no one gets forgotten, but it's usually carried out in the form of monthly visits to one's home. Well, I try to keep my home tidy, but sometimes it gets a little...out of hand. But, thankfully to my faithful visiting teacher, I'm always guaranteed to clean it up thoroughly at least one a month before she comes to visit! Which lead to the creation of this meme:
As the whole world should be aware, 10th April was my birthday. Given that I did not have to work, and that I live on my own in a foreign country, I decided to make the WHOLE day as great as possible. I cleaned my apartment the day before so I woke up to a very clean and tidy apartment, which was wonderful.
I also made sure I listened to some very happy music! This really helped set the mood for the day, which was one of the best days I've had in a while.
Since it raised my mood so much I thought I would share some of my happy, feel-good songs with you!
The first is a new favourite of mine:
"When Can I See You Again?" - Owl City. I love the videoclip too because everyone looks like they're really enjoying themselves and feeling happy.
"On A Day Like Today" - Stephanie Pearson (from the "Everything You Want" movie soundtrack). This one is positive and upbeat about how today is full of possibilities.
"Lovely" - Kumi Koda. Mostly in Japanese, but you've just gotta look at her smile and you get the picture!
"Happy Boys & Girls" - AQUA. Slightly cheesy name and lyrics, but there's nothing wrong with declaring you'll be happy and dance about it!
"Dazzling Girl" - SHINee. A bit of K-POP for you, but in Japanese (and bits of English). They're pretty happy about their dazzling girl and are dancing about it too.
Meet my good friend in Tasmania, Stephanie Parker. Here she is with her (slightly hyper-active, yet cute) dog, Chloe.
Some things you should know about Steph: She is a very loyal friend, is laid back, loves to laugh, and has the cutest sneeze.
We've known each other a few years now and really hit it off when we decided to take a trip together to Melbourne. We had a lot of fun learning to drive our rental car (a very new model with automatic transmission, and very sensitive brakes, which neither of us were used to!), as well as doing lots of sight-seeing and shopping. And to top it off, while we were there a volcano erupted in Iceland, preventing us from returning home for yet another several days. Go figure.
Since I moved to Japan, Steph and I have been sending good old snail-mail letters to each other. In fact, the first letter I received here was from Steph! I love reading her letters because they are always interesting and funny.
Recently, for a bit of fun, I sent a list of 10 questions for Steph to answer about herself. And for a bit more fun, I've decided to post her answers on my blog for your reading pleasure.
So, here they are!
1. My favourite colour is pink, which is kind of obvious, hehe!
2. My favourite movie is "Raise Your Voice", it is a singing, but sad, movie.
3. In my spare time I like to watch my favourite TV shows, do puzzles, sing, scrapbook, hang out with friends, play with my dogs, and pretty much just enjoy my life.
4. My favourite Disney movie is "The Lion King".
5. My favourite food is lasagne. Yummy!!
6. If I could learn any language, it would have to be Spanish.
7. My least favourite food is pumpkin.
8. My dream job would be an event organiser.
9. I prefer winter, as when it is cold you can snuggle up & put on more layers, whereas with summer there is only so much you can do to get cool.
10. My favourite ice-cream flavour is strawberry.
And there you have it, ten facts about Steph Parker. Love it. An Event Organiser would be such a fun job!
If you'd like to be my next Friendly Feature then contact me and I'll send you 10 questions :)
An Internet meme (pron.: /ˈmiːm/meem) is a concept that spreads from person to person via the Internet.
I recently started to enjoy the current meme culture on social media. You know, pictures which resurface again and again with various funny captions. Someone I know even got "memed" by his friends, using one of his photos as a joke. And it was about then that I thought, "Heeeeeey, maybe I can make a meme!"
And so my project began. I'll admit, the juices didn't flow immediately. But I was determined I would create a meme, and it would go down in history!
I downloaded a free meme app on my iPod touch, called "MemeCreator", and looked through the various photos and their usage style. Eventually, I decided to go with the "Grumpy Cat" one, as that would probably be the easiest. So for a few days I thought and I thought and finally...I got it! The light-bulb moment.
And thus, my first meme was born:
Okay, a little mean. But hey! It's grumpy cat! He's always mean.
Well, I got such a buzz from creating my first meme, I decided to make another, and soon found myself on a roll. One of my favourite memes is a "Condescending Willy Wonka" saying "Oh, you wear a Northface jacket? You must go on so many adventures." Not sure why, but I find it really funny! You know, people who buy that expensive pro-bushwalker jacket, just to wear around town. Touché, Willy Wonka!
So here's my own Willy Wonka meme:
Yeah, I know. Mean again! So I decided to try something more neutral, and went with Philosoraptor:
Discovering this new medium for creativity has been really fun, and I will probably make some more in the future. There's many great templates to choose from, such as "Success Kid", "Koala Can't Believe It", "First World Problems", or "One Does Not Simply".
(These examples are from the internet and not me...but I like them!)
Now I'm excited to pin my memes to Pinterest and see if they go viral ;)
Oh, and in trying to find a good example of "Challenge Accepted" I ended up coming up with my own just now:
I'm always inspired by this clip about our divine ability to create. Even if we don't consider ourselves to be artistic, as President Uchtdorf says, we can all create in some way. We can all contribute something to make life even more beautiful.
As I was reflecting on this recently, I came to realise that although we can create, we are somewhat limited in this. Think of some of the greatest artistic masterpieces you've seen. Chances are they are based on someone else's genius - that of the Great Creator. For example, someone may create a beautiful painting of a field of flowers. No matter how well the detail of each petal is captured, its true beauty comes from the original creation of our Maker.
The same can be said for portraits, landscapes, and many sculptures and figures. Even abstract art is often revered for the familiar things which it portrays. When a piece of art does not reflect a familiar shape or pattern, it is often rejected by many as "nothing" or "pointless". Being imperfect and inexperienced, we are limited largely to creating something based on the beauty that is already around us.
While we should still continue to develop the qualities we have inherited from our Heavenly Father, we can also be humble as we recognise and be inspired by Him as the Great Creative Being, and admire the 'art' he has created all around us in this beautiful world.
I'm going to start writing up some posts in Japanese, mainly to practise my writing skills. But for all you Curious Georges out there I'll write up an english translation for ya ;)
Every week in Nerima I go to a Japanese class. Recently my teacher had me write some compositions. These compositions usually had a theme to practise recently learned words or grammar. On this blog I'm going to write up those compositions as well as any I write at home, and ask my Japanese friends to please correct them. Because my purpose is to become better at Japanese and learn from my mistakes, please go ahead and teach me the correct words or phrases in a comment or email (for those who know Japanese of course!). Thanks in advance.
This theme was given as homework in my class.
Theme: Something invented in my country.
Something that was invented in Australia is called "the black-box flight recorder" in English. In Japanese it's apparently called "Hikokirokusochi". This invention is very important. Before it was invented lots of planes crashed, but it was not understood why. But after the black-box flight recorder was invented the reason could be discovered. Because of this, if there were any problems, they could be fixed in other planes. These days, they say planes are the safest way to travel.
When you're told to bring souvenirs overseas from Australia to share, what do you bring? Cadbury's Furry Friends Chocolates, of course! And what happens when you realise there are just way too many teachers at your schools to give them all one? You keep them all in your closet instead of giving them away. And what happens when you keep a bunch of chocolates in your closet over summer? They melt. Multiple times. And what do you end up with? Seized chocolate.
Seized chocolate looks quite different to the original product you bought. When you open up the wrapper you'll see something that looks more white than brown, and I kind of felt like some sort of sorceress, because the moment I touched it that stuff turned to fine power!
So, what do you do with a heck of a lot of seized chocolate? I did some (internet) research, and found that while it's not too tasty on its own, it's still good to use in a lot of recipes. So today I put that theory to the test, and used it to make a hot fudge sauce. And you know what? It tastes pretty darn good! So I've decided to share the recipe.
(I first melted the seized chocolate in a bowl sitting on a small pot of simmering water, adding some warm water to the powdery chocolate to give it a more liquid, creamy consistency. I then followed the recipe, but melted the butter on it's own first)
Melt butter and chocolate melts together over medium heat.
Add sugar and slowly stir in milk.
Add vanilla and mix well.
Serve hot over ice-cream, waffles, crepes, etc.
Note: Sauce will keep stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
I ate some on vanilla ice-cream, and whoa....that stuff is good!
They say life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. Just when you think you've got it worked out, you suddenly find your life heading in a different direction.
Can't argue with that. About a month ago, I was 95% sure I'd be finishing my crazy, exciting adventure here in Japan in May 2013, and be going back home to Australia. The plan was to then earn a Diploma of Laboratory Technology, and work my way up in the science industry.
However, I now have my eye on a different diploma. The Postgraduate Diploma of Teaching (secondary) to be exact. That's right; I want to be a Japanese teacher!
Now this all started as a "maybe" floating around in my head, spurred by the fact that I love my funny/shy/cheeky teenage students and have found this job as an ALT to be the most satisfying of any I have had. I find language teaching to be very interesting, and now finding myself in the "real world" trying to apply the Japanese I learnt at school, I'm very excited to try and teach others in a way that is fun, practical and most importantly, productive. Every day this "maybe idea" become a bit more real, and now the idea of doing anything else seems so strange. And so, we have a change of plans.
Now at this point, I still assumed I'd be going home in May. But when my company asked recently if there was anything they could do to convince me to stay, I decided to give it some serious thought. I had played with the idea, but despite 'loving my job' there were still many frustrations that came with it, and the thought of enduring another year of it seemed unbearable. But after discussing some possible changes which could lessen my frustrations, I really began to consider it.
I recognised that since my career objective has now changed, I have a greater priority to learn Japanese, and learn it well. After the progress I have made (though still far from fluent), another whole year on top of that sounded wonderful, and got me feeling quite excited and relieved. I asked and was granted the wish of finishing the next contract at the end of January 2014, instead of March, so I would be able to go home just in time to start university in February. And seeing as I have to wait almost a year to begin my teaching studies anyway, I might as well spend the time in a relevant job as an English teacher, and in an environment where my Japanese skills, now important for my future job, can continue to improve greatly.
With all these benefits, even my current job frustrations didn't seem so bad after all, and I recognised there was much more I could be doing to possibly resolve the problems, and was willing to take this on as my challenge for this year.
So, realising that there wasn't really much to come back home for just now (except for wonderful, glorious, normal food!!), my decision to stay became quite clear too. And so I have now informed Interac that I will be accepting their offer to stay on until January 2014.
To my delight I was told I could take some leave after January this year (as my permanent assignment at my schools goes from June - January each year), instead of working until the end of March.
And so the life plans of Maz have now become thus:
January 2013:
Finish teaching in Nerima for the school year, endure the cold winter, now made more fun with snow;
February 2013:
Escape the rest of winter and take a trip back to the land of Aus, catch the last month of summer and eat copious amounts of mum's delicious home-cooked meals and many other foods I recognise and love;
March - April 2013:
Enjoy the beautiful cherry blossom season of Japan, do a bit of travel around the country;
June 2013:
Recommence the early mornings and frustrations fun! Work on my proactive skills...
July 2013:
Take the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficency Test) level 3;
August 2013:
Head over to Estonia and meet up with mum for a 2 week summer holiday;
December 2013:
JLPT level 2? Would probably fail that one but worth a shot, right? Also, enjoy Christmas and show mum the sights of Tokyo;
February 2014:
Tearfully bid fairwell to my friends and my second home of Tokyo, Japan, and move back to Australia to begin my Postgraduate studies (I'm hoping to get accepted at the University of Melbourne);
2015:
Begin teaching Japanese in Australian high schools! And maybe do that additional work to make my diploma a Masters Degree.
So that's it, my new 3 year plan!
And now, a bit of David Bowie to celebrate the New Year and my new life plans! Cheers, everyone!
