On: VIKINGS (and serious fangirling)

Over the first part of 2016, I picked up a number of new television series, mostly out of boredom. I know, I know, I should have picked up Fairy Tail again or another anime series. But like, I really wanted to watch these shows ok? And along with Shadowhunters, I started to watch this amazing gem that I can't get enough of: Vikings. 

Vikings is produced by the History channel, but unlike other History channel shows, Vikings plays out like a drama, bringing to life the legendary tales surrounding Ragnor Lothbrok, the farmer-turned-king. At the beginning of the first season, we meet a young farmer named Ragnor who is an amazing warrior that has sworn fealty to Earl Harldson, for whom himself and his brother Rollo raid. But Ragnor is not satisfied raiding lands that he says, are often just as poor as them - he wants to travel West, a journey no viking has ever successfully completed. Undeterred by the Earl's dismissal of his attempts to sail West, Ragnor asks his good friend Floki to build him a ship. And using the knowledge he gained from a wanderer on how to sail West using the position of the sun, Ragnor sets sail on his own with a crew of men. The success of his raid will set him onto a path of power and politics as two languages and cultures - those of Christians and pagans - clash. 

On: Miyuki Watanabe: Confessions of a Fan

I'm a pretty big idol fan. If you look through my blog, I'm sure you'll realize this to be true. The groups I primarily follow are those from the 48Group and Hello!Project. So, as an idol fan, I've experienced a fair share of graduations. However, there are certain girls that I've grown to like so much, that when they leave, I feel like the entire group has changed completely for me because I've grown to care more for this one girl than I have the rest of the group: my definition of a kamioshi. One of these girls is NMB48's Watanabe Miyuki.

Miyuki or "Milky" as she is affectionately called by fans, is a first generation member of the group NMB48 based in Osaka, Japan. She is the original center of the group, and co-centered many singles with Yamamoto Sayaka. Together they were SayaMilky, NMB's 2top representatives and the first (and so far only) members of NMB to rank in the top 16 in the 48Group election. Milky didn't originally stand out to me. To be quite honest, I didn't care much for NMB when they were first formed. I enjoyed their songs, but I couldn't find a reason to like them. When NMB's top began to participate in AKB singles and tv shows, I began to learn more about them. I remember my first impression of Milky was that she was far too flirtatious. However, as I got to know her more, I realized that I LOVED this side of her.

On: AKBGroup Election Results Part II

*Part I*

Undergirls

Continuing on from my last post, I will share my reaction and general thoughts on the results of the 2016 AKBGroup Election. Undergirls is a group that SKE48 has dominated for a number of years. I fully expected the same to happen this year (and actually expected quite a few SKE girls to rise into senbatsu itself as well) but SKE didn't dominate nearly as much as they had before. Neverthless, it was nice to see Souda Sarina (SKE), my favorite draft member rank so high. Churi dropping out of senbatsu was sad, but I kind of expected it. Nao dropping in rank rather than rising into senbatsu like I had hoped just sucked. Nao is a younger member of SKE and will be one of the members to support Jurina as a front girl in the years to come - SKE really needs some of these younger girls in senbatsu or at least high Undergirls. *sigh* But hey, Takeuchi Saki ranking so high was a definite plus in SKE's ranks - maybe the fans are hinting that they want Saki to take the center lead rather than Ryoha? 

NMB having two members rank in Undergirls is definitely an improvement but they really need a second name in senbatsu. Shiroma Miru may be the best bet for next year. Nako ranking in was nice, poor girl works so hard (and she's super young still!). Mio dropping was meh for me. I knew she didn't have a good year and I don't like her, but I was a bit surprised to not see her higher. Her fans seem to be extremely loyal to her. Regardless, I was pretty ok to see where she was. It's not a terrible position, but it was clear from her speech that she expected a higher rank for sure. Undergirls overall though, was a win for AKB in my opinion. Oshima Ryoka, Kawamoto Saya, and especially Komiyama Haruka show that they're definitely the future of the group, jumping straight into Undergirls. Kato Rena rises - just a bit - but she keeps her position as a lead member of the group. Iriyama Anna, although this is her last election, managed to rank at #18, her highest yet and Kojima Mako gracefully took the #19 spot showing that she is poised to enter senbatsu by next year. Overall, I was satisfied with Undergirls and so happy that this shows that the main group's girls may not be as overshadowed by sister group members after all. 

On: 2016 AKBGroup Election Results Part I

THE. RESULTS. ARE. IN.

Regardless of who you voted for or if you voted at all, there is no question that this year's election had a wide array of surprises for many. It's an election that many thought they could predict and in the end, fell into (generally) complete chaos. Girls who had always ranked didn't rank. Newer girls ranked in. SKE's voting power was acknowledged but did not impact rankings as it had for years. NMB took a stand but ultimately, was unable to compete with the sister groups and HKT is a whole mess of drama and rivalries on their own. So let's get started on my general reactions shall we? We'll start with the member(s) that didn't rank and that I think totally should have. 

TANO YUKA! If I have any serious gripe with this election it was this - Yuka. did. not. rank. HOW?! Tano Yuka is my 3rd oshi in AKB and in terms of sousenkyo voting, is posed to become my #1 by next year. I didn't vote for her this year because I thought, "she'll surely make it into at least Next Girls. She always has and she's awesome. I. was. wrong. And I'm so utterly sad and disappointed. Yuka is a future ace. She can sing, dance, act and has that quirky personality where she says whatever is on her mind. Even though she may come off as rude, I love her outspoken personality and the fact that she's not afraid to say, "Yes, I'm good at what I do." She deserves a comeback next year and goodness, please don't graduate because of this~!! 

Ugh. Ok, now onto the results themselves (yes, I only really care that Tano didn't rank in. Disappointed in myself really). 

On: AKB48 2016 Election Prediction(s)~

The faces of the 48 groups from left to right: Kato Minami (NGT48), Matsui Jurina (SKE48), Sashihara Rino (HKT48), Watanabe Mayu (AKB48), and Yamamoto Sayaka (NMB48)

IT. IS. TIME. 

THE. 2016. 48GROUP. SENBATSU SOUSENKYO IS HERE!

What is the senbatsu sousenkyo you ask? Well, as I explained in my more detailed post last year here, the election gathers all the members of the 48groups that are eligible and choose to participate into what is essentially, a popularity contest. There are 80 spots available with over 200 girls from AKB48, SKE48, NMB48, HKT48, and NGT48 competing for a spot. Ranking not only is a huge honor, but often brings attention to girls that management had ignored or had not promoted as much. Ranking in senbatsu, "the chosen ones" which is the top 16 spots, allows you to promote the next AKB single, and opens up various new work opportunities which helps the girls solidify their careers for after they graduate. The #1 girl or center, is giving mass media attention and essentially, reaches a legendary status within the group itself. 

Last year I voted - a lot. But this year, I decided to vote a lot less and chose to place all votes for one girl: Watanabe Mayu. Last year, she fell to the #3 spot and this year, the preliminaries placed her at barely taking #1, less than 1,000 votes above the #2 spot, Sashihara Rino and approximately 6,000 votes away from the #3 spot, Matsui Jurina. Now, it wasn't my intention to vote at all this year, but after watching the preliminary, I felt that I had to vote. I just really want Mayu to keep her lead and while I know it's a longshot, with the fact that Sashi has an extremely loyal and powerful fanbase, I hope to contribute at least a bit in bridging that gap. 

On: Shadowhunters: The Revival of a YA Urban Fantasy

A few years ago, I decided to read the first book in the Mortal Instruments series, City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare. My main motivation was that the movie was about to be released on DVD. I had wanted to watch it while it was in theaters but didn't have the time to read the book. So, I proceeded to read not only the first book, but the second, third, fourth and fifth! Then, I waited patiently for the release of the 6th and final book. While I waited, I watched the movie and to be honest, I was pretty neutral on it. I felt like certain aspects of the story were well portrayed and I liked the casting for Simon, Jace, and Clary, the 3 main characters of the show. However, the movie didn't do so hot and a sequel was trashed. After having watched the movie at least 10 times, I read the Infernal Devices, a series that takes the same universe from the Mortal Instruments, but is set in 1800's London. With the release of the final book in the series, I considered the story of Jace and Clary to be mostly done (a third series, the Dark Artifices is in the works and the first book was released this year. More on that later). 

But! I was wrong. Freeform picked up the series for a TV Show and the first season just wrapped up so I'm here to talk reactions/thoughts/general musings on the show. Now, in the world of the Mortal Instruments, there is a "Shadow World." The shadow world consists of all manner of legendary creatures - werewolves, vampires, warlocks, and fairies, referred to as "Downworlders." They're very real, but are able to hide themselves in plain sight. Along with the Downworlders, there are demons that wreak havoc in the human world if left to their own devices. To keep the Downworlders in line, kill demons, and protect mundanes (aka mortals), Shadowhunters also exist in this world. Half human, half angel, Shadowhunters are a race of incredibly strong, supernatural beings that hold tight to their traditions and interestingly enough, have a general disdain for both downworlders and mundanes. They're not tied to any specific religion, but train ever since they're young to fight demons. They use wand-like glass objects called seraph blades, to burn runes into their skin (kind of like getting a tattoo) which gift them with various powers depending on the rune - among these are swiftness, the ability to see across long distances, endurance, and healing. The Mortal Instruments follows the story of Clary Fray, a young girl who one day finds out that her mother was a Shadowhunter and that everything she thought she knew, was a lie. 

On: Visiting the AKB48 Theater and Shop

As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently traveled to Tokyo and spent some time completely freaking out in Akihabara (ok, so it wasn't that bad, but like, Akihabara is the the holy ground for any AKB48 fan and coupled with the Hello!Project shop that's also in Akiba, I was having the time of my life, haha). I visited Akihabara twice and it was only on the second visit that I gathered enough courage to head to the 8th floor of Don Quijote in order to see the AKB theater in person.

My younger sister headed up with me and one of the first things I noticed (aside from all of the AKB promo decorating the outside of the building), was that there are images of the various AKB CD covers plastered on the walls which you can see when you're taking the escalator up (or down!). There are tons of covers and they're all HUGE! It was really neat for a fan like me and definitely built up the anticipation I had to get to the theater itself.

On: Visting the Hello!Project Shop (and oh yeah, Hi, I'm back!)

Tokyo Tower!

Wow, it was almost 3 months ago that I posted that I was back. Well, I wasn't, although there are tons of things I want to post/have to post about. First, let me start by saying that in March, I made a trip to Japan to visit a good friend of mine and to take a much needed vacation. That week flew by, but it was awesome to see and get to know Tokyo. It is definitely very different from Osaka and is overall, much more touristy. That's not a bad thing of course, but it I did miss the more homey atmosphere of Osaka (although I did get asked on three different occasions if I needed any help - twice in English and once in Japanese. I learned that I understand way more than I can actually speak and I'm both super happy and disappointed about that, haha).

As of right now, I've launched into the summer semester of library school - yay! Well, kind of. I'm already feeling extremely overwhelmed because I'm taking a management class and I'm not good at management. This is why I'm a library assistant - less responsibility that way. But *sigh* I really should get used to the fact that I'll eventually be in some sort of management position. Aside from school, I'm writing more! That is a definite YAY! I've got so many new soundtracks I'm using as inspiration, so many books (and reviews!) to share that have helped drive my creativity and more importantly, I'm also drawing a lot more, which helps me when writing descriptions.

I will be posting (hopefully sooner rather than later), a couple of reviews on plays/DVD performances I've watched recently, my hopes for the AKB election, book reviews, manga reviews, and some television shows that I've been hooked on as of late. There is tons to share and I can't wait to start posting. But first, I wanted to share a bit of my trip to Japan.

Life in Thoughts

Guess who's back?? Well, kind of. Truth is, I've been super busy the last few months, between planning an international trip, school, work, tax season, scholarship apps - basically, a lot has been going on. Quite a lot. I'm sure there's been blogworthy moments, but I just haven't taken the time to sit down and type out what I'm feeling. So, in trying to keep this blog very much one about my life - my interests, fears, dream and plans - I'm going to get more personal than I have before.

The truth is that at the moment, I don't know what in the world I am doing. Like, I am absolutely and completely lost. Why? Because I have lost any and all ambition. And I struggle everyday to try and find something - anything, that will keep me looking forward to the next hour, day, or year. I've been finding it harder and harder to really enjoy the little things in life. I suppose I'm falling into a routine and I'm doing everything possible not to do so. I don't want to fall into a routine without some sort of end goal in mind. And that's the root cause of it all - I need to find another dream to fulfill. But there's something always stopping me - usually money and adult responsibilities.

So, I'm going to take this blogpost to try and come up with some goals. You see, my two biggest dreams, as far back as I can remember were to 1. Visit Japan and 2. Finish College. Two years ago, I achieved these two goals but I had created new dreams: 1. Revisit Japan ad 2. Find a job I really love. Fast forward two years later and I will soon: 1. Revisit Japan and 2. Have a job I really love.

So, How Was 2015?

Back when 2015 was just getting started, I wrote a post about all of my resolutions for the upcoming year. I won't be making entirely new resolutions for 2016, more like I will be tacking on what I had for 2015 since I (of course) did not actually do everything I set out to do. But, it's ok. In this post, I will go through my resolutions and recreate them for 2016 as needed. :)

Brace Yourselves - NaNoWriMo is coming~!

Yes, in just two days time (more like 1 day really) NaNoWriMo will officially begin! What is NaNoWriMo? Well, it stands for "National Novel Writing Month." Through the website, you can sign up, post a quick snippet of the novel you will be working on and track your progress! The hope is to write 50,000 words in one month and essentially complete a novel! As you all know by now, I've been trying to write a novel since forever and I'm going to try to push myself so that I'm actually writing and producing some content (even if I end up editing half of it out by the end). The idea is to get ideas flowing and start writing it down on paper - y'know actual scenes that move the plot forward instead of just world building - so yeah.

At the moment, I have a rough outline of what will hopefully come to be "Genma" the first part in the series I am planning. Needless to say, the first part will largely follow the exploits of Genma who is a loud, rambunctious 19-year-old who is as lost as you or I when it comes to where he is going in his life. In terms of appearance, Genma is has long strands of straight black hair that hang over his eyes and hug the nape of his neck. He's approximately 5'8" with bright silver eyes (yes, you caught that right, silverish eyes, although from a certain angle they look more blue rather than silver. He likes to say they're silver - adds an air of mystery, he says) and tan skin. He makes inappropriate comments and gets himself into all sorts of trouble. It's his knack for troublemaking that opens the stage to "Genma" and will hopefully he will lead you on an interesting journey, if not a wild goose chase.

On: Sayashi Riho: Confessions of a Fan

Sayashi Riho, ace and center of Morning Musume

When I do Jpop reviews, I largely tend to pick some of my favorite groups. I've posted two different reviews about the jpop group Morning Musume. This group has a rotational system whereby girls join in "generations" and leave when they see fit to move on. Being in the group helps them grow as entertainers and helps them determine in which sector of the entertainment world they want to work in or if they even want to stay in entertainment at all. To date, Morning Musume has had 12 generations. Today, the members of Morning Musume feature the entire 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th generation(s). All members from earlier generations have graduated from the group.

Riho, at the concert that
announced her addition to
Morning Musume.

I've been a fan of Morning Musume since about 2009. I didn't seriously start following them until 2011, which is the year that Sayashi Riho auditioned for and was added to the 9th generation. I've been a fan of Riho since watching the audition footage. She was an amazing dancer and she just exuded confidence and shone throughout the audition. Her singing was not the best, but I was confident that the agency would help her polish her voice. In addition, it was well known that she had studied dance at the Hiroshima Actor's School, and videos began to appear online of her dancing when she was younger, here, here and here. It was obvious from the auditions that despite her young age, she was a professional who was used to receiving harsh criticism and using it to fuel improvement. When she was officially announced a new member, I was ecstatic and knew she would become my favorite from the group instantly.

Sayashi in the Maji Desu
Ka Ska! outfit

Sayashi's debut in the group, along with the rest of the 9th generation was in Maji Desu Ka Ska! While her feature was equal to the other members, in the second release featuring the 9th generation, Only You, Riho was notably featured and it became clear from that moment on that she was the ace and face of the new generation of the group. From there, Riho's skills continued to develop, in particular her singing. When 10th generation was added to the group, Ayumi Ishida grew as a competitor to Riho, largely due to her focus on dancing. The two would grow to be the definitive dancers in the group, often partaking in dance battles during concerts or tv shows (here they had like a minute to come up with a routine!) and bringing the dance level of the group as a whole up another level. With the release of the song, One Two Three, Morning Musume became known as the group that used formation dances in their songs.

On: WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

Hi! Long time no see huh? Technically it has only been about a month and a half but it feels like it has been so much longer since my last post. So many things have happened in real life that have contributed to my absence so I'm going to use this post to give an update on my life and let you all know what I have been up to.

To start off, the biggest change in the last month has definitely been the fact that I STARTED GRAD SCHOOL! Yes, it did finally happen. I am attending grad school to obtain a Masters in Library and Information Science. It's busy work. Overall, not too bad but still busy busy work. I always have lots of reading and writing to do so that has definitely taken up pretty much all of my free time. I have a few gripes already with it being an online degree but the definite plus is that I can keep my job which is cool because I'm paying about $3, 500 per semester out of pocket. Ouch. I knew my savings would come in handy at some point.

In addition, I have been trying to catch up on my reading list. I mean, I had this stack of books by my bed that were almost due and despite working at the library, keeping overdue books for any length of time does not look good on your yearly review. I've had to return a few books without even reading them. This is why I have 4 books currently "in progress" on Goodreads. The truth is that I'm really only reading two. I had to return the other two and am keeping them on there so I don't forget to finish them (because that would totally happen...)

Tatakau! Shoten Girl [Fight! Bookstore Girl]

In my last j-drama blog post where I reviewed the drama Sunao ni Narenakute, I mentioned that I was watching 3 dramas. Tatakau! Shoten Girl [Fight! Bookstore Girl] is the second of the three that I have completed. To be quite honest, I finished this drama a while ago - about two weeks ago? Yeah, that sounds about right. However, I was unable to find the time to write about it. But luckily I found some time this week, so lets get on with it! 

Aki Kitamura [played by Watanabe Mayu] has just begun to work at the Pegasus bookstore where Nishioka Riko [played by Inamori Izumi] works as the vice-manager of the store. Aki comes from a wealthy family and rumors immediately begin to swirl around her, however, what really surprises the staff about Aki is her fervent love of books and her desire to make sure each and every customer is satisfied. Nishioka shares the same goal as her subordinate but Aki's ideas to attract and satisfy more customers often causes burdens on the other workers of the bookstore. Their different approaches to obtaining the same goal, has the two women often butting heads. 

Sunao Ni Narenakute [Hard to Say I Love you]

As I mentioned in my post about the j-drama Majisuka Gakuen, once in a while, I will pick up a drama or television series, usually so that I break-up the cycle of watching anime most days. I haven't actually watched any anime in well over a month! There was a total of 3 j-dramas that really caught my attention and in addition to them, I have been watching a British tv show as well (more on this will come in a post at a later time). One of the j-dramas I picked up and just finished is called Sunao ni Narenakute. To be completely honest, I started watching it because one of the actors is a singer that I quite like - Jaejoong, from the Korean group JYJ. I remember that back in 2010, when this drama first aired, I was determined to watch it, but never did. So, coming across it again about 3 weeks ago, I decided that I should watch it once and for all.

Sunao ni Narenakute follows 5 individuals whose lives intertwine due to social media. In this case, 4 of the 5 have a Twitter and follow each other. One of the five who goes by "Linda" online, suggests that they should all meet up in real life. At first he tells everyone that they should wear a red flower in order to be identified but then says, "Just kidding!" The first person to arrive is "Doctor" a young man from Korea who works at a hospital in Tokyo. He is wearing a red rose when Linda finds him and Linda explains, while laughing, that he was only joking about the red rose. Doctor looks very confused at first but eventually figures it out. I think I can count about 5 instances in which Doctor didn't quite know what was going on, since his first language is Korean, but for the most part he understood and connected well with everyone.

The next to arrive is "Haru", a woman in her early twenties who is a provisional teacher at a local high school (she failed the exam to obtain her certification in teaching). Haru brings her best friend with her. While she doesn't use Twitter, she does eventually join and follows all the members from the meet-up; she goes by the name "Peach." Finally, "Nakaji" arrives. Nakaji is a photographer who often posts the images he takes on Twitter. All 5 strike up a friendship and decide that whenever they're together, they should be as honest with each other as possible. As a group of young twenty-somethings, many things happen that cause twists and turns in their lives. As they each open up with each other, they all learn that each one of them holds secrets and pain hidden away.

2015 Election Results + Reactions (part 2)

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So, the election~! Before we get into the top 16 ranks, there's a few comments I want to make about the lower rankings. I was happy to see more NMB48 girls rank at higher places this year, although I'm not so fond of not having seen Nishino Miki rank again :/ Ryoha ranking in the lower categories was good enough for me. She's in the rankings. Now, if she could only open up more and improve her character, she may start the climb up like many of SKE's girls. Sato Sumire ranked this year - and she got a center position! I was really happy to see that, although sad that members such as Maeda Ami and Iwasa Misaki were out of the ranking altogether. Also, Souda Sarina ranked! She was my favorite member from the first AKB draft and while I knew she was popular I wouldn't have expected her to rank in her 2nd election - you go girl! :)

Now, onto the reaction for the top 16 spots!

2015 Election Results + Reactions (part 1)

Guess what? I woke up this morning at 3:30 am (after having gone to bed at 12:30 am) and didn't go back to bed until 8:30 am. Why? I wanted to watch the AKB48 election live! I voted this year more than I have any other year and I wanted to see how my favs would do (both those that I did vote for and those girls who I didn't have enough funds to vote for but still support). This year, I split my votes 4 ways; I joined a campaign for Watanabe Mayu and one for Tano Yuka. For Watanabe Mayu, my donation bought roughly 5 votes for her. For Tano Yuka, my donation bought about 1.5 votes for her. For the final two members I voted for, I used a proxy service. I sent money to a member of the Stage48 forum that was in Japan during the election voting period and he bought the votes for me at a super cheap price ($9 a vote! Had I bought the CD's from my go-to place, YesAsia, the votes would have been about $18 each. So by using the proxy service, I got two votes for the price of what would normally be 1.) In return, my proxy buyer got to use the handshake ticket that came with the CD to meet one of the girls (something that I wouldn't have been able to use anyway since I'm way over here in the U.S. so it's a win-win situation) This was one of my best decisions this year because I was able to buy 10 votes. My proxy buyer took a picture of the voting codes and sent them to me through email. I inputted the codes and voila! I had voted for two girls. I sent 8 of the 10 votes for my favorite member - Yokoyama Yui. I sent the final two votes in for my favorite NMB48 member Watanabe Miyuki.

2015 AKB48 Election~!

I've mentioned before in several blog posts that I'm a pretty big fan of the Japanese pop idol group AKB48. They hold many yearly events, the most popular of which is the Senbatsu Election. "Senbatsu" is the term used to symbolize which girls are "chosen" to promote a single. These girls are the ones that appear in the music video of the song, on the cover and also the ones that perform and promote the song through tv appearances and performances.

The 16 girls chosen to promote the group's newest single, "Bokutachi wa Tatakawani"

Getting a spot in senbatsu is a huge deal for the girls because with it comes increased exposure and basically indicates that a girl has amassed enough popularity that the management is willing to invest in increasing that popularity and having the girl become one of the ambassadors of the group. There are many girls who are "staples" in senbatsu, meaning that due to their high popularity, they are always chosen to promote a song. Then, there are girls that are newcomers and those that may be giving a spot on one single, only to be dropped from the roster for the next single. This can be very frustrating for fans that have a favorite member and want to see her in all the releases/gain more popularity. And of course, there are also many girls that fans feel are deserving of a spot in senbatsu but are never given one by management. 

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Why yes, this is really late because like, this movie came out last year and yet here I am writing about it. Why? Well, simply put, I haven't watched it. Well, should I say, I hadn't watched until this afternoon. I was unable to see the final installment in The Hobbit in theaters and opted to buy it as soon as it came on DVD. Then, it promptly sat in my room for weeks because I refused to watch it. And I refused to watch it for one simple reason: I didn't want it to end.

There are times when a story captivates me so strongly and I am so emotionally invested in the plot and the characters that I refuse to see a story to its end. I will literally set the series/movie/book aside and wait a while until I finally gather the courage to watch the ending. This happened when I read the final chapter of the Naruto manga, when I finished reading the Harry Potter books, when I got to the end of the Rose of Versailles anime - I mean, this happens A LOT. A lot more than it should actually. But finishing this amazing journey into Middle Earth was one of the hardest to complete.

Twists and Turns

This month I have come across many blog worthy moments but for some reason, I can't seem to find the time to set aside and write these blogs. Life has been getting a bit busy lately so I'm going to try my best to summarize most of those blog worthy moments in one post :)

So earlier this month I received a notice from the overseas job I had applied for letting me know that I was selected as an alternate candidate. Basically, if one of the short-list candidates can no longer accept the job, for whatever reason, I may be promoted to take their place. Promotion is a 50/50 chance and it very much depends on whether or not you fit the criteria for the type of candidate a place is looking for, so while I filled out the alternate paperwork, I may not be promoted to the short list at all. As of now, I'm waiting until mid-July to see if I'm promoted at all and if not, I will be taking my name off the short list and working on getting into grad school. Wish me luck :D