Today I:

• had cereal and coffee for breakfast
• am having a cup of noodles, a banana, and a bag of chips for lunch
• got a sudden headache when I looked at this sweater
• wish I had studied Japanese

Japanese and Mandarin have absolutely nothing in common - they are in different language families - except a couple thousand characters that are sometimes pronounced similarly. (The Chinese pronunciation dominating, which is why I heard someone say "child" in what sounded like Mandarin in a Japanese movie once. But the line gets drawn there.)

If I took up Japanese right now I would definitely have an edge over other native English speakers because I have studied written Chinese. I would know some Japanese characters by default, but the meaning might not be the same because of the time that has passed since it was adopted into Japanese. I really wish I could learn both languages, but where am I going to find the time? I have only just managed to wedge Mandarin back into my schedule, which is no small matter.

That Darn Bohemian Lifestyle

I got a letter last night that really confused and bewildered me. It was from my school's financial aid department, those people that hate me. They readjusted my financial aid for Spring 2005 based on what a workhorse I am. Wow, thanks. I have no idea whether this means I owe money or am owed money now - either way, it's a pickle, because I'm not going back. Really. They can't make me.

There was a brief, flickering moment in the midst of all that confusion when I thought it was a Spring 2006 award letter and that they were trying to lure me back. I considered it, and the answer, even faced with five digits of aid, was: "Hell no!"

I have decided that office work is fundamentally unhealthy. I sit for over nine hours a day in front of a computer, staring at a glowing screen, my fingers constantly diddling a mouse and keyboard. My knees always ache, I think I'm getting carpal tunnel syndrome (the knitting probably doesn't help) and I'm gaining weight so fast I don't even recognize myself undressed anymore. I walk 25 minutes to and from work every day, something which is probably just barely holding back the floodgates of obesity and ill-health. Add to it the occupational stress, and beer gut that immediately follows. Ugh. I am a mess, and it will only get worse if I go on this way.

I'm thinking:

Cabinetmaking.

I think I made some sort of surly remark to my last studio instructor about how I should have just been a cabinetmaker instead, but maybe I wasn't just talking out of my ass on three hours of sleep. Maybe I was onto something.

Last night, I:

• chose between knitting and dinner (Knitting won)
• knit a Voodoo wrist warmer
• decided it needs a thumb gusset
• drank a bottle of mineral water
• watched Family Man