melredcap | Happy New Year!

Ha! I'm updating faster than before! Go me!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas; I certainly did! (Well... apart from the whole 'away from my friends and family' thing, that is, but I got to talk to everyone on the phone, so I managed OK.) All my presents arrived in time -- errr, unlike my presents to other people, wups -- including a cute little Christmas tree Mum sent me, and I went out to lunch with Jackie and Seong, a couple of the other exchange students here. Peking Duck, mmmmmm... And it was even a white Christmas! It started snowing at about 10.30pm, just enough to put a bit of frosting over the landscape.

Since then, well... I've been lazy, I admit it. I *have* done some writing, and translated some manga, which is less self-indulgent than it sounds; like I mentioned earlier, I'm doing a translation project for Independent Research next semester, and it never hurts to get in a little practice and a head start. Apart from that, though, I've been enjoying my break by sleeping late, monitoring the snow level outside, and watching a lot of anime. Heh. Since it's all in Japanese, and doesn't have English subtitles, maybe I can count that as practice too?

Anyway, it's back to class at the end of next week... *why* do we start back on a Friday? The Monday after it is a public holiday, too, which means we go to class one day, have three days off, class for three days, another public holiday... eesh. Still, I have been enjoying my classes (apart from the whole homework thing, but that's normal), so I'm looking forward to it. Oh! and as for my classes back in Australia, I have one of my results back; I got a Distinction in 'Japanese Linguistics', yaaay! I also have two Deferred Assessment results; I *still* haven't received the final exam for 'Written Japanese D' or the class notes from the last half of 'Language in Asia', which I have to write two essays about. I didn't really want them to arrive before Christmas, but I *do* hope they get here before class starts again. I'd like to get them out of the way first...

Ah well. Have a good year in 2003, everyone! If you read this before the New Year hits (thanks to the magic of timelines, 'Yoi o-toshi o o-mukae kudasai'; and if you read it afterwards, 'Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu. Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu'!