We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
-Joseph Campbell

hahah duuuuuuuude i think me & lou have been watching way too much anime lately and just getting excited for japan in general..not that i don't enjoy watching the shows..hehe but for some reason their slang just sticks in my head and all of the sudden it sounds like common english to me as well. take for example today..i had to go out in the field..and instead of saying my usual, okay i'm going now, to my boss..i was about to say "ja-ne" (sounds like jah-neh, and means: ja ne/ja na = see you later/see you then)..hahah but luckily i caught myself before i did..i'm sure she would've been like..uh what?..hahaha..and i know japan's not for like 7 more months..but still..i'm soooooo excited for it..i can't wait!..neon lights at night..smiling and nodding having no idea what's being said to me..sushi/sashimi/sake/udon/bento/yakitori..yuuuuuuuuuuuuum. alright..i'll stop, because i know i'll be saying this same stuff in october..hahah..but seriously..it's totally making lou & me want to do the jet program..gosh..should've done it w/ anne marie...oh well..wishful thinking=P

so on a serious note..i got this forward from my dad yesterday..pretty much telling you about what you can do to detect signs of someone having a stroke..and how just detecting these things you could save their life..so here's the main part of it:

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify.
Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke
victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to
recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three
simple questions:
S *Ask the individual to SMILE.
T *Ask the person to TALK to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE
(Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today)
R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
{NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick'
out their tongue... if the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one
side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke}
If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 9-1-1
immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

i think he's way cautious right now b/c of my older cousin who recently suffered a stroke=(. i think i wrote a little about it before..but it's just so hard for me to imagine it..she's only like 34! right now she's in recovery at home, so we all just pray that she gets back to 100% soon. so yah..mmm need to change subject..sorry..

okay only 1.5 hours of work left..then it's time to get ready for some snow action..and studying of course=P