Hiya everyone,

The end of January is coming soon. I have a lot of readings to do for my classes. Taking four classes is such a difference compared to only taking three. But, then again, it may because of the subjects of the classes. It’s been raining these past few days. So, it’s very cold! I am not used to this kind of weather.

Although I am busy with school, I do find time to watch Japanese dramas. Liar Game 2 came out recently. I love Matsuda Shota so I have to watch it. It has many similarities to Liar Game 1, but I am glad Nao (played by Toda Erika) has grown. I have also kept up with: How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Better Off Ted (this show I recently fell in love with — unfortunately, I heard it was getting canceled), Modern Family, the Middle, and the Office. I also saw CW’s Life Unexpected, I thought it was cute. (Yes, I might watch too much TV…)

Anyway, on January 14th, I went out with some coworkers (who actually live near my apartment) to Downtown to go to an Art Walk. It was very interesting. It was mostly contemporary art. Although half the time, we were just waiting for food from this food truck called, Komodo.

Then, yesterday (January 21st), the power went out at my apartment possibly because of the rain and wind. And, the power also went out at my coworkers’ apartment. So, we went out to get some ramen, but the restaurant was closed. So, we got curry from Curry House. I love their curry with the chicken katsu! Then, we went to go Max Karaoke. I never went to a karaoke place before. Heck, I never even sung in front of my friends. But, it was really fun. We tried to sing some Japanese songs, but utterly failed. I forgot all my Japanese characters. Afterwards, we went to Yogurtland (which was crazy because it was so cold and yet we wanted some frozen yogurt)! And, finally, the power came back on in our apartments. Yay!

Well, that’s it for now. I am so tired and cold. I need to finish up my readings and start a paper very soon!

Wow, my winter break is passing by pretty fast. I am already at the end of my second week. Just one more week before I go back and start winter quarter. It is kind of exciting and scary because I will be taking four classes. I never done that before in a quarter system, in which we only have ten weeks. I hope I can survive.

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas to everyone. Earlier this week, December 21st, I had a Jury Duty summons. Many people complain about having to go and wasting their time. This was my first jury duty summons. Technically, I had it somewhere in August but I was going to start school and it would conflict with my schedule. So, I had it postponed to the 21st. I called on the 21st, and received a “not needed”, called on the 22nd and received a “not needed”, and finally called on the 23rd and received a “needed”. So, on the 23rd of December, I had to wake up before 7:45AM and get to the courthouse. To be honest, I did not care if I was selected or not because I was curious of how it would go and whatnot.

When I first got there, I had to go through those metal security bars that beep if you have something metal (Haha, what are they called?) then go onto the elevator to the 11th floor. We were led into a huge room with chairs and given a plastic badge seal and pamphlet. We were told to wait for further instructions. Afterwards, a lady came out and gave us an orientation, telling us what we can do for excuses or postponements. Then, another lady came out and told us the day of a juror. Around 10 AM, they had the first panel of jurors randomly selected. However, the judge did have specific requirements in which, the trial would last for 30 days and would require people who had employers pay for them being there. Being a student, I was excluded since it would severely disrupt my classes. Then, again around 11 AM, they announced their second panel of randomly selected jurors which was estimated to last 16 weeks. They wanted people who had their employers’ pay for them being here. So, again I was excluded since I was a student. At 12PM, we had a lunch break until 1:30PM. Throughout the entire time, I was reading, listening to music, watching a movie on my Zune, and/or playing with my Nintendo DS. Around 1:40AM, they announced another panel, saying that the trial would last 90 days in which everyone was totally surprised. They even said, “All of you will be included”, which even shocked everyone. Then, they asked, “Do you all want to leave? This is rare but you can all leave right now. Your jury service has been completed.” Everyone was so shock and happy. So, that ended my jury service for one year. Unlike my family members who had to wait until 5PM to get out, I was able to get out early. It was probably because of the Holiday, since it was Christmas Eve’s Eve. Haha.

So, on today I will be going to my aunt’s house to celebrate Christmas with all my relatives and exchanging gifts and whatnot. We do a pseudo-Secret Santa, in which each family gets a number of Secret Santa’s and we buy gifts for them only and exchange them on Christmas. However, everyone pretty much knows who got everyone since my mom and aunts would call each other and ask what everyone wants.

Well, that’s it for now. Have a good one!