Mon Chat

My cat's name is Piggy. Piggy-chan, if you want to get technical about it. She's a brat and she drives me absolutely bonkers. She will never be a cupcake, sweetheart, or princess. My cat lover boyfriend identified the problem right away.

"Your cat is a bitch."

And you know what? She is. She wakes me up every morning at 4 to go outside, she follows me around the house whining (although no food, treat, or coaxing seems to alleviate the whimpers), and she loves to plop herself in the most inconvenient places. It's almost as if she senses that if she sits in your chair, that in five minutes you will be needing the use of your desk. Or she will find a warm spot in the very center of my bed, five minutes before I feel the need to sleep. And yet, I find myself worrying when she hasn't come home, or if she hasn't eaten her breakfast. And I can't help taking pictures of her kodak moments. It's a love and hate relationship with Piggy. But at least we're honest with each other. I call her bitch, and she bites me. Consider us even.

Mémoire d'école

I was looking at a yearbook from 1995. I was still in middle school, but my sister was in high school. The below was written by her in my yearbook. I think it describes our relationship very well, and in fact reading it made me laugh out loud. I realized we have similar conversations 12 years later.

Naomi,

I don't believe you are watching Four Weddings and a Funeral AGAIN! Soon you'll be playing nekofunjyatta AGAIN! And coming into my room early (It's early for me okay!) and stealing my clothes or your clothes back AGAIN! And we have to go shopping in the States for clothes and books again. But that's okay, those times are pretty fun. I'll miss you when I'm away this summer. (This part of the movie is so sad.)... What in the world are you writing? It's so long. ...Well, there are still no cute guys in your class. I doubt there ever will be. There are cute guys in our class, but they're such nerds. (How many times have you actually seen this movie?)...

It goes on, but it reminded me of how great it is to have an older sister. Often we have two seperate conversations going on at the same time. She will be talking about her topic, and I will be following my own train of thought. And really you can only have these types of totally random, uninhibited conversations with the best of friends. If only I had listened to more of her advice when I was younger. And now we both have lots of advice, and we both are equally annoying to each other.

L'education

Like many things that we end up debating, education should be a non-issue. Everyone should be getting a good education. We can debate what a good education encompasses, but let's face it:

"Seventy percent of eighth graders are not proficient in reading—and most will never catch up."

That's not okay, especially for a country who has as much money as the States. I heard someone say once that it's silly to even ask the question. Why are we asking if everyone in the US should have health insurance and care? That's not even worth asking because the answer should be so clear. I think the same goes for education.

Une boisson

Today I had a drink. Now this particular drink is somewhat special. It is one of those things that I miss when I'm away from Japan, although in the end I rarely have it when I'm here. It's kind of like conbini. Anyone who has ever come to Japan, falls at least partially in love with the convience stores. And I spent four years of university pining after conbini, talking about conbini, and then spending most summers not really going to conbini. I wish I spent time away thinking wishfully of Kyoto, or indigo patterned yukata, but unfortunately I end of thinking of convience stores that make your eyes sting at night, and...(wait for it....) Starbucks matcha (Green tea) frappucino. That's right. I'm am totally in love, and crazy for matcha anything. But most of all those green slush bundles in a cute plastic take away container. I think if I was buying my matcha drinks from that cute little cafe in Jyugaoka (Hanna help me out here?) I'd feel better about investing in green slush, but I'm in Kobe and my options tend to remain in the Starbucks/Tully's variety. For all the hidden guilt, I have to admit, they're still damn good.

Bébé

When procrastinating, there is one cardinal rule to keep in mind. There is always something better to do than study/work. Hence my complete fascination with knitting. I can listen to podcasts (Ira Glass on "This American Life" is so worth the time. It'll make you smile if you have my sense of humour...) and KNIT KNIT KNIT for hours. Then not only have I procrastinated, but here's the great thing...I have something to show for it! And what's even better is that if I knit in minature (aka baby stuff) I can spend just a few hours and have all this cuteness to show for it. My boyfriend's older brother is having a baby girl this June, and while I'm sure the Univeristy of London is secretly groaning at my ineptitude, I am in complete bliss. These cute "blu jeans" are made from Rowan denim, and the more you wash them, the more "jean-like" they become. Ahhhh, life's little pleasures.

Il était une fois...

Hanna (my intelligent, amazing, and only sister who lets me be ridiculous) suggested I start a blog. But my hesitation is the fact that I have nothing to say. I always babble, but very rarely have exciting news. But then it occured to me that there are probably thousands of bloggers who have absolutely nothing earth shattering to say, so why not join the herd. (This is not a commentary of my sister's blog by the way.) So I begin my blog in a room where I spent most of my high school years, and although the pictures on the walls haven't changed, I have many new things on my desk. Sad to say, but no matter what my age, I am still doodling. Hence, "Gribouillis". Because let's face it. French sounds so much more appealing, and makes a word like doodle almost poetic. We'll just ignore the fact that my ex-roomie's cat happened to be named the same thing.