Happy Halloween 2012

http://dailycontributor.com/happy-halloween/8236/

Happy Halloween!

Halloween isn't a very well celebrated holiday in Japan.  Some people decide to have parties, but in general it's not a big to-do.  Tomorrow my three English club students will be making some Halloween sweets with me after school, but I don't have a costume or any fun party gifts.  They may be a bit disappointed, but it's hard to decorate for such a thing with no budget and no materials available within a reasonable distance of my house.

Last year, teachers asked me to do special Halloween lesson plans during the month of October, but this year there were too many events happening at our school and no one had time to deviate from the textbook curriculum.  Let's hope they don't suddenly ask me to have something ready in class tomorrow, since I don't have anything to bring and not enough time to make something on the spot.

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As tomorrow is the last day of October, NaNoWriMo will be starting the day after on November 1st!  Here is a short video from the creators of NaNoWriMo.

I was told the following: "Warn your friends, family, neighbors, and pets about the upcoming challenge. The more people who know what you're working on, the more accountable you'll feel and the likelier you are to hit the 50,000-word goal."

I agree that having friends and family know about my projects, as well as supporters cheering me on for whatever goal, helps keep me focused as well as holds me accountable for my actions.

So wish me luck!  I haven't quite decided on a storyline yet, so maybe I'll be day-dreaming all throughout tomorrow about a possible story plot.  Any inspirational ideas?  It is supposed to be easy and fun to write, to the goal is to stick to fiction.

Stay warm, and have a very wonderful and happy Halloween!  It finally feels like fall.  My favorite season.

NaNoWriMo

Good morning!  Even on non-work days I find it difficult to wake up late.

My hopes for this fall/winter are to stay inside, read as many books as possible, study for the JLPT, and figure out what I want to do with my life once I leave Japan in approximately nine or ten months.  I have the study and leisure books already prepared, but I don’t really have enough information on job hunting.

Last night I met up with a friend in Kofu.  She is also in the process of trying to make a career change, so I asked her to bring along the books she has regarding employment.  We talked a lot about our interests, and what kind of markets cater to them.  She has been talking to various career coaches and had a lot of useful information to share with me.  The main book that she’s been using is called Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0.  I’m also interested in learning a little about this on my own, so I looked online only to discover that there are about 20 different versions of this book, all geared towards different needs and occupations.  For example there are some that focus on using technology, some for using social media, for entrepreneurs, writers, and the list goes on.  There are a few that I’m really interested in reading, but I was unable to find any copies that were cheap enough to be worth my while.  I also checked the e-libraries and couldn’t find them for free for the kindle.  I’ll either have to suck it up and buy some of the ones I’m interested in, or find equally useful information for free on the Internet.  I’ll consider this a little longer before I make a decision.  At this point, I'm trying to avoid buying anything new because I’ll have to spend a lot of money to bring it back with me to the US.

Lately I’ve been trying to expand my writing ability, so I’ve been doing some volunteer writing.  I mentioned this in my last entry about the AJET online magazine.  For those of you who guessed that my nom de plum is “Rosie - the advice columnist,” you’re right! I’ll be writing the advice column monthly, as long as there is an interest from the editing staff and readers.

In addition to article writing, I found out about this event in November called NaNoWriMo.  It stands for Nation Novel Writing Month.  From midnight on November first to midnight on December first, a group of individuals from all over the world will make a pledge to dedicate the month of November to writing a novel.  Each person will attempt to write 50,000 words, or approximately 175 pages, in 30 days.  The purpose is not necessarily to walk away with something you can publish on December 1^st, but to write for the sake of writing.  Many people who want to write often let doubts get in their way of ever sitting down to the task.  “I’m not good enough, I don’t have enough time, and I don’t know what to write.”  The deadline constraints of this event force people to write as much as possible, creating a writing flow that is important for practice and idea generation.  The point is to get people away from using excuses, and simply WRITE.

I will be participating in next months NaNoWriMo.  Anyone can join (as long as they have access to the Internet), and there are various communities within the event to help motivate one another with the task at hand.  Although my schedule is busy and  I may not pass the 50,000 word finish line, I figured it was still a good chance and opportunity, so I'll give it a try.  Ultimately, anyone could make this a project for themselves at any time of the year, but having a community going along through the same process at the same time as you is integral to getting the job done I think.  Getting inspiration and motivation from others is often important when trying to push yourself toward a seemingly unachievable goal.  Every year people “pass the finish line,” so perhaps I will join them either this year or next!  Also, maybe the work I produce this month will eventually be turned into a novel.  You never know!  Check out the website if you’re interesting in the program, and please let me know if you decide to join in!  I have put a “participant’s badge” at the bottom of my website.  I’d love to share this experience with you!  We can share ideas, story lines, and encourage one another along the way!  I will try to keep my word-count up on my blog during November to let you all know if I’m making any progress or not.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/about/whatisnano

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/about/hownanoworks

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/dashboard

http://blog.lettersandlight.org/

AJET October Magazine

I feel like it has been a while.  I apologize for the sudden drop in posts!  Things probably won't become any less busy any time soon, but when I can I will update you with tid-bits of what's going on in my life.

The October AJET Magazine has just come out!  I hope to write a new article every month until July, as I think I would like to pursue writing seriously and the only way to get any better at it is to learn and practice.  In the current issue (the link is posted below) I have submitted one photo, and one column.  For the column I actually used a pen-name, as the editors thought this would be best considering the nature of the column.  Can you spot it?  I'll give you the answer in my next post!  In the meantime, happy hunting.

October AJET Magazine Download link

Also happy haunting, as Halloween is just around the corner!  This year I will not do anything special except for decorate "Halloween pancakes" with the English club.

And as for a new bit of fun news, I am going to be in Korea for Christmas this year!  I'll be there for about a week, leaving Japan on December 23rd and returning on the 28th.  Have yourself a Merry Korean Christmas!  메리 크리스마스!

-Lana

2012 Calendar - Japan

Buy my 2012 Japan calendar at lulu.com!

2012 Calendar: Japan


http://www.lulu.com/content/legacy-lulustudio-calendar/japan-calendar-heisei-24---2012/11678041