London's First *Real* Summer Day!

Wow..I can honestly say that today was the first day I have truly enjoyed for a long time. I finally had my linguistics exam this morning which I probably over-studied for (but I guess it is always better to over-study than to under-study, no?) so now only my easiest exam, Earth Science remains. I also had a lovely evening out at a sushi restaurant with a few of my friends, two of who are graduating this year and one of who is spending the summer in China. We had some really good laughs, got a little tipsy and tried our damnedness to eat the 20 dollars worth of food that we paid for (it was an all-you-can-eat buffet - good for men, not for women)...an overall good time. I've noticed that with the stress of university, one almost has to jump through hoops and over hurdles to find a time when everyone can get together so it really was (at the risk of sounding terribly cheesy) a precious moment.

Also...on a relevant but still kind of unrelated note...it's strange because I feel like everything has come to an end although a full week remains. As I stepped out of the social science building after my exam, I was overwhelmed by how the crisp spring morning had suddenly changed into a blazing hot summers day and how the worries that have occupied me this entire semester were simultaneously stripped away as I removed my spring jacket and sweater from this morning. In a way, it is a shame that I have to miss London at it's best - all I ever see are the dreary winters followed by a short interval of nice weather - the be all and end all of my London experience. But on the other hand, who would want to be in school during such a nice time of year? It really is a double-edged sword. Actually, my biggest wish for this summer is to find a job where I can either work outside for the majority of the time, or have the chance to engage my mind like I do in school (good luck, you say) as I realised last year that spending half of your day in a mall making yogart can make even your average Joe yern for a textbook and a couple of killer exams to excite the mind. Ah well...I'm already on the application process so hopefully something smashing will come about :-)

Oh, and this time on a completely unrelated note, I received my application forms for Gunma University today! Very exciting stuff! I have completed everything except for the sections that my dad needs to fill out for me. I even managed to write a page long blurb in Japanese on how I became interested in Japan and why Gunma was my ultimate choice as an exchange destination. While the honest answer would be that I had no choice in the matter (shhh...), I managed to pull off a pretty convincing explanation in under thirty minutes - a record for me! :-) But in all honestly, I love exploring new places so Gunma's Tamamura city is just as good a place as your next small-town in Japan...every place has something to offer in my opinion...you've just got to search for it.

Finally, check out this cute animation! For anyone who has watched Brokeback Mountain, regardless of whether you liked it or not. It's pretty funny!