Small Blessings

It's easy to forget how very blessed one is when facing a horrific onslaught of finals and other (to quote a friend) "first world" woes. So having reevaluated my current stressors and determined them to be outside the realm of "kingdom issues," I feel relief enough to reward myself with a bowl of hot rice and a sip of cold sweet tea before getting down to business. Calm and "kiai" (spirit)  for fellow exam takers! Cute picture to motivate you.

Exam-mouse is going DOWN! 

Doodles from Japan

Found old stuff recently!! When I was in Japan two (or three?) years back, I went to Daiso (a 100 yen store chain) and bought a blank journal and some markers to draw with while riding the Shinkansen (high speed train). These are the drawings that I made while on the train from Tokyo to Kyoto and back.

The first and second doodles

The red is a correction marker (?) from Daiso.

Drew this after visiting Ohara and soaking in the Goemon-buro there.

Tree branches and small blossoms

A close up since I put such hard work into the bark

After finding these, I felt nostalgic and began to draw something similar in the very back of the same journal.
So far I have this. Contemplating whether or not to continue. Opinions?

Until later then!

Current Playlist-Get Stuff Done

Looks like it's going to be another busy day today! Here is my current "get stuff done" playlist for your enjoyment:

1.618 - BT
Akikaze no Uta - Akeboshi
Chameleon Boy - Blue October
Crying Lightning - The Arctic Monkeys
Dancing with the Devil - Wolf Gang
Du Hast - Rammstein
Dust Bowl Dance - Mumford & Sons
Go to Rakuen - Yoko Kanno
Hot Air Balloon - Owl City
Kids - MGMT
Matryoshka - Ubyk
Moonchild - Electric Universe
Porcelain - Moby
Rabbit Heart (Raise it up) - Florence + the Machine
Right Thing to Do - Sbtrkt
Soon We'll Be Found - Sia
Spyglass - Rodney Miller
The Recluse - Cursive
Where Dream and Day Collide - Madder Mortem
Wood - Second Person
Check them out if you have time!

One Small Step for...

Hit the ground running this morning (obviously not in the literal sense) knowing that my afternoon would be devoted to writing all manners of essays for the coming finals. However, noodles and vegan alfredo sauce is a poor source of energy as it turns out. Currently sitting in the largest library on campus, laptop equipped, casually chewing on raw oats and enjoying the view. (Pictured above)
I've been letting my mind wander lately, as I find the resulting sequences to be amusing. Just earlier, as I was eating noodles, a rather twangy rendition of a vaguely familiar Christmas tune began to play, putting me in mind of (Lord only knows why) Kung Fu fighting Christmas elves. It was such an unwanted and grossly inappropriate image to have come from a Southern tinged Christmas ditty that I fairly choked on my meal.
So much of what I have seen on television advertisements regarding the coming of Christmas as of late, is beautifully and meticulously gift-wrapped to appeal to people's sense of "duty" and their inner giver. I keep hearing things akin to "give a gift worth giving" spoken in a number of very similar ways by a myriad of businesses: from charity organizations (which makes more sense than), spas (I can see this being nice for some sorely overworked mothers but not..), European based trinket manufacturers (just take my word for it and try giving a rock you find to be particularly attractive to your eco-swinging friends as a creative paper weight or door stopper instead), to any number of companies pledging to help you get the best bang-for-your-buck this holiday season.
Blatant commercialization of my favorite holidays has finally disturbed me to the point that I am having trouble enjoying myself during them.
Is this a step forwards for me...?