Straight Hair Pics =)

Hey everyone~
 So I remember I posted about my hair progress (3 years natural) and I mentioned that I was going to straighten my hair but I never posted any pics!! So this post is to show my straight hair. I was actually so surprised about how it came out! I had no idea you could straighten natural hair to the point that it looked like a perm! I was really happy with the results =) It lasted a pretty long time too. After I graduated I didn't revert back until a good two to three weeks of straight hair.

Current Situation

Well...I've been out of school for a couple of weeks now (3 weeks) and I still haven't found a job and freelance work isn't working out for me so well. The only work I have received for freelance translation is this one brochure job on technical houses and it was because no one else felt bothered to do it...I got paid so that's good but it didn't amount to anything. I did get another offer from a guy that made Japanese textbooks. I gave him a suggestion on a google group page I'm on and he really liked it so he offered me this job but after giving him more sample sentences, he wasn't satisfied and wrote that he thought I was a professional when he saw my suggestion on the group page. I can't be mad however, it's partly my fault. I was so excited about the job offer I didn't take my time and proof read, I didn't think and I just sent it in half ass like thinking it was good enough. Every things just weighing down on me right now...I mean I have almost $10,000 dollars interest to pay on my loans and $100,000 in total (principal) that I borrowed to just finish school. Just looking at these numbers is making my head spin because I have no idea how I'm  going to pay for it all...I thought I could start by doing freelance work during the summer to pay down some of the interest but for most of the work they want professional translations and I just don't have the experience yet to say that I can handle it. I've applied to countless jobs and still no one's getting back to me...so I'm really at a loss right now. I mean, my dad says to take it one step at a time, but what step am I suppose to take when I have no opportunity to go on. Right now I feel like I've just wasted money because I still don't entirely understand the Japanese language and even though I have an idea about what I want to do, I have no experience and I feel like no one will give me a chance to gain the experience. I know I have to study more but I just don't have the money to continue schooling or go to a school focusing on translation. I feel like I'm in a pitch black room with only a match that has a bud of flame on the end. Groping through the dark with no way of turning on the light.

Translation...and other things

Hi everyone,
 
So I've graduated from school and like everyone (or mostly everyone) I'm looking for work. It's a long drawn out process with no certain outcome and it's killing me a little inside everyday. Besides that, I think I've found what I want to do with my life...well at least for the time being. I want to translate. Although I don't have that much experience with it (I did translate for my senior thesis and I have done little homework assignments here and there) I decided that it would be good for me to try my hand at some freelance material. A few days ago, this lady (although it might be a man I'm not sure...) post on one of the google groups that I joined for translation that he/she's looking for someone to do a rush job for a brochure translation. I e-mailed her back and told her although I don't have a lot of experience I might can be able to do it and at first she/he was hesitant because I'm not a professional but after an hour or so and no one took the offer he/she offered it to me! I was so excited because this was my first translation job ever that I was getting paid for!

Needless to say it took all night (until 5 am) but I got it done. However, because I was so new to the freelance translation business, I had no idea about how to charge. XD I asked my boyfriend (just as clueless as I was) so I went with charging by the hour...later to find out that most translators charge by the character. (So now I charge .10 cents a character) but I lost a bit of money on my first job but not to worry because today, he/she e-mails me again about another assignment they have for me to possibly complete! I'm elated that they would come back to me and I immediately said yes....but I think this person might be on a different time zone than I am because she/he sends me the materials so late that I wind up having to stay up to get it done. This project today that she/he proposed to me is a little bit bigger than the last one so I told her that I would probably need a little more time to finish this one (if she/he sends it too late) I would rather it be sent during the day so I can work on it and have it finished in the the morning when she wakes up...but I guess we would have to collaborate on that since this is only my second project and I don't really know about the company or anything...(I thought about that this morning to, so I sent her/him an e-mail asking to fill me in on the details about who he/she works for)

Even though thinking about it, I should have got up a little bit earlier and maybe could have caught her/him and she/he could have given me the materials earlier...but I mean I didn't know I was going to be asked for a second job so...I can't beat myself up too much....but anyway, I'm just happy that I'm able to get myself started in freelance work! It's good for my Japanese and my pocketbook lol so I guess it's a win win situation...however I just can't stand the tight deadlines...I hate working under pressure and the quality of my work suffers when I'm under pressure =( So...hopefully I'll be allowed more time to do this next project since it is the weekend and all....(cross my fingers!!!)

Besides my start in translation, it's been a pretty lax summer so far. My grandma's here for a little bit (she came to my graduation and now is staying with us for a little bit) and she cooks so I'm getting a little bigger lol (not too big though..I hope -__-; )

 ...but the one thing that is really making this summer difficult is being away from my boyfriend...we got so close so fast and the spring semester just flew by spending time with him. I don't know where all the time went honestly...being at home now I would just give anything just to hug him again...I miss him so much. We talk pretty much every day though and skype helps a lot so it makes it easier...but it's not the same. I also worry about us being separated by our careers and jobs we get...I don't know where my Japanese is going to lead me and I don't know where he's going to end up...I want to start living with him and starting the next phase of our relationship but all this uncertainty is just daunting and I don't like it...all I can say now is that I hope we can get through it together and end up together like I envisioned us...but no one can be sure of the future and that's a scary concept to me. He's my first...for everything...and I don't want to give up because when I look at the big picture I don't want to be with anyone else...I mean I feel like I can go the distance with this guy, I love him and to me, that's pretty much all I need...and him feeling the same way about me, just fuels my love even further to keep pushing to make it work. Anyway that's enough about my personal life lol so embarrassed!

My Korean Boyfriend.com

LOL So the other day I stumbled on this site called My Korean Boyfriend. com (http://mykoreanboyfriend.com/) and it's this cute site about a Filipino girl and her Korean boyfriend lol Even though I have no idea if they're still together the site has evolved into a cultural haven and is directed towards people that like and want to learn more about the Korean culture. Browsing through the site they also have these really cool T-shirts which are absolutely adorable! and if you happen to have a Korean boyfriend lol even better because most of the shirts are directed towards it (and it just so happens that I do have one lol) Hyun Wook and I have been going out for around 5 months now and when I saw this site I thought it was just adorable and I just had to have a t-shirt lol Anyway, sorry for my rambling but if any of you get the chance you should check out the website =)

「ただいま」juju

So it's been a week since I've graduated from school and needless to say after  e-mailing countless people about jobs and freelance work, it's pretty slow around the house. So....after watching in Japanese drama called "Mou ichi do kimi ni propose" (which translates to "Proposing to you one more time") I decided to translate the main song for it, "Tadaima" by juju. It's a nice song and I like it but to tell you the truth translating songs are so hard! Especially songs that haven't even been transcribed and written down in the native language. I tried to look everywhere for the original Japanese lyrics but I couldn't find it anywhere!! So that just left me with trying to write down the Japanese lyrics myself. I don't know how many times I listened to the song to write down what she was saying lol but in the end I finished lol It's funny though because when I asked my friend to check over the lyrics and see if they were correct, lol there was one line that I thought I heard as 「夫婦知れば」but what my friend said and what she was actually saying is 「目を閉じれば」yes, yes I know Asheli is a complete baka LOL you don't know how many times I've laughed at myself because of it! But anyway, here's the song (and here's a link to the song if you want to listen to it:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqapj6_music  =)

 

-First Verse-

過ぎてゆく毎日に大事なもの忘れそうで       As every day passes by I seem to forget the important things

町の中ふと一人立ち止まる                        I suddenly stand still in the middle of town

愛してる?                                       Do you love me?

そんなこと今更ね 聞けないけど               I can't ask those types of things these days

不器用な　笑顔が愛おしい                     Your awkward, clumsy smile is lovely

かかえきれなくて 壊れそうな心まで           The seemingly broken heart we shared but couldn't hold on to 

当たり前に分け合えてた                         I naturally was able to share it with you 

いつの間に                                       Before I knew it

目を閉じれば　聞こえてくる                     When wrapped in your nostalgic gentleness

あなたの声が呼んでる                                     If I close my eyes I hear

懐かしい優しさに包まれたら                        your voice is calling me   

見つめ合うより もう同じ明日を見ているから        Instead of looking at each other, let's look toward tomorrow because

二人で歩く道にもう迷わないよ             When we walk together, I no longer lose my way

-Second Verse-

好きな色好きな空                                                Your favorite color, the sky you like

泣いていた 映画のシーン                          The movie scene you cried to

何一つ覚えててくれないけど                       you don't remember not one of them

過ぎた悲しみもそっと埋めてくれてたね              You even burried my overwhelming sadness 

今分かったあなたがいた                         　　I realize now that

すぐそばに                                     you are always close to me 

恋が愛に　変わってゆく 思いを重ねるたびに                  With each thought of passion gradually turning into love 

穏やかな時により添える場所へ　                  Tranquil times add to the place where 

見つめ合うより横顔がこんなにも切なくて    Your profile shot is much more heart wrenching than looking at each other

ときめくよりも深い愛、気づいたから                             Because I realized, love is deeper than fleeting passion 

-Break-

零れてゆく時間はもう追いかけない           No longer can I chase after time as it gradually overflows

大切に大切に 月日をたどって                                                                The precious days and months to follow  

-Third Verse-

目を閉じれば　聞こえてくる                       When I close my eyes I hear

あなたの声が呼んでる                              Your voice is calling me

探してた　愛はここにあるんだと                                                       I've searched for it, if love is right here

いくつ季節を重ねても                                               Then no matter how many seasons pass by 

色あせない ぬくもり                        I will never forget your gentleness and warmth 

あなたの声のする場所へ今帰るよ                I'm going home to where your voice is

ただいまと伝えたくて                            and I want to say "I'm home"

PLEASE DON"T TAKE ENGLISH LYRICS WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND CREDIT. THESE ARE COPYRIGHTED THANK YOU

INFJ?!

So, my boyfriend tells me to take this personality quiz and I get the result that I'm an INFJ. After looking it up...yeah the test was right. Here's the definition:

INFJ: Portrait of an INFJ - Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging

As an INFJ, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you take things in primarily via intuition. Your secondary mode is external, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit with your personal value system.
INFJs are gentle, caring, complex and highly intuitive individuals. Artistic and creative, they live in a world of hidden meanings and possibilities. Only one percent of the population has an INFJ Personality Type, making it the most rare of all the types.
INFJs place great importance on havings things orderly and systematic in their outer world. They put a lot of energy into identifying the best system for getting things done, and constantly define and re-define the priorities in their lives. On the other hand, INFJs operate within themselves on an intuitive basis which is entirely spontaneous. They know things intuitively, without being able to pinpoint why, and without detailed knowledge of the subject at hand. They are usually right, and they usually know it. Consequently, INFJs put a tremendous amount of faith into their instincts and intuitions. This is something of a conflict between the inner and outer worlds, and may result in the INFJ not being as organized as other Judging types tend to be. Or we may see some signs of disarray in an otherwise orderly tendency, such as a consistently messy desk.
INFJs have uncanny insight into people and situations. They get "feelings" about things and intuitively understand them. As an extreme example, some INFJs report experiences of a psychic nature, such as getting strong feelings about there being a problem with a loved one, and discovering later that they were in a car accident. This is the sort of thing that other types may scorn and scoff at, and the INFJ themself does not really understand their intuition at a level which can be verbalized. Consequently, most INFJs are protective of their inner selves, sharing only what they choose to share when they choose to share it. They are deep, complex individuals, who are quite private and typically difficult to understand. INFJs hold back part of themselves, and can be secretive.
But the INFJ is as genuinely warm as they are complex. INFJs hold a special place in the heart of people who they are close to, who are able to see their special gifts and depth of caring. INFJs are concerned for people's feelings, and try to be gentle to avoid hurting anyone. They are very sensitive to conflict, and cannot tolerate it very well. Situations which are charged with conflict may drive the normally peaceful INFJ into a state of agitation or charged anger. They may tend to internalize conflict into their bodies, and experience health problems when under a lot of stress.
Because the INFJ has such strong intuitive capabilities, they trust their own instincts above all else. This may result in an INFJ stubborness and tendency to ignore other people's opinions. They believe that they're right. On the other hand, INFJ is a perfectionist who doubts that they are living up to their full potential. INFJs are rarely at complete peace with themselves - there's always something else they should be doing to improve themselves and the world around them. They believe in constant growth, and don't often take time to revel in their accomplishments. They have strong value systems, and need to live their lives in accordance with what they feel is right. In deference to the Feeling aspect of their personalities, INFJs are in some ways gentle and easy going. Conversely, they have very high expectations of themselves, and frequently of their families. They don't believe in compromising their ideals.
INFJ is a natural nurturer; patient, devoted and protective. They make loving parents and usually have strong bonds with their offspring. They have high expectations of their children, and push them to be the best that they can be. This can sometimes manifest itself in the INFJ being hard-nosed and stubborn. But generally, children of an INFJ get devoted and sincere parental guidance, combined with deep caring.
In the workplace, the INFJ usually shows up in areas where they can be creative and somewhat independent. They have a natural affinity for art, and many excel in the sciences, where they make use of their intuition. INFJs can also be found in service-oriented professions. They are not good at dealing with minutia or very detailed tasks. The INFJ will either avoid such things, or else go to the other extreme and become enveloped in the details to the extent that they can no longer see the big picture. An INFJ who has gone the route of becoming meticulous about details may be highly critical of other individuals who are not.
The INFJ individual is gifted in ways that other types are not. Life is not necessarily easy for the INFJ, but they are capable of great depth of feeling and personal achievement.
http://www.personalitypage.com/INFJ.html

This personality type...I hate to say it pretty much describes me, I do love creative independent task,but lately I've been scared to be alone with my thoughts... and myself. I feel like sometimes I lose control of my thoughts and start to scare myself. The alone time that I used to enjoy now seems like torture to me because I find it scary. I feel that in my mind, my thoughts have a mind of their own and I'm not in control of them. This is the way I've been feeling since summer school after I came back from Japan. I feel that even though I'm uncomfortable with it, talking and speaking helps me cope with my uncontrollable thoughts because at least when I speak, these thoughts go through a filter and I have some control over them... I felt this way 5 years ago with my parents divorce and these feelings have resurfaced. It's subsiding a little and I do find some comfort in being alone but it's not the same. I guess I have to let time be the healer and ease my suffering.

Three Years!!

Hi all,

  So it's been three years now since I've cut my hair and gone natural. It's been a crazy ride but I'm glad I stuck to it. My face and body and never felt healthier..plus my hair has grown out so much, sometimes it even astonishes me. This journey isn't over for me yet because as my dad has, keeping up with yourself and taking care of yourself is a life long endeavour. I just want to take the time now though to reflect back on my journey and see how far I've actually come. If you've been reading my post you can see pictures of me when I first cut my hair back in 2009. Well here are some pictures today of how it's grown. Now that my hair is getting longer, I do worry about my ends because I don't

"dust" or trim my ends like over women do that I've seen on videos but since I am graduating on Saturday! YAY! lol I'm thinking about straightening my hair (don't worry professionally, I don't trust myself with heat yet) for the occasion and I'm just really curious to see how long my hair actually is. I guess then, I'll get my ends trimmed and see how I can keep my ends nice and neat. Throughout this journey, I want to thank a lot of people that has guided me throughout this experience. First I want to thank all the ladies on Youtube for creating such great informative videos that girls like me can follow and look up to. Finally I want to thank my hair dresser Meeka! She's an amazing hair stylist that I would recommend to anyone. She's given me lots of advice about my hair and how I should treat it to let it grow and I'm really indebted to her for all her advice! Anyway, I'm still not at my goal length yet which is a little  bra strap length going down my back but I know that I'll reach it...maybe in year 4 or 5 of my journey. After I reach that goal, I think I might start cutting it if if gets longer because, if you have hair like me, you know how much of a hassle it can be with two-strand twist once you've washed it. It literally takes me hours to re-twist because it's so long. but, after I reach my goal length I intend to just maintain that length. Anyway, besides hair talk, I just want to say Happy Mother's Day to my mom and to all the mom's out there that work hard for their babies! We really appreciate it, even if we don't show it all the time. So please keep doing what your doing and always know you are loved!!! Thanks moms! I also want to take the time to congratulate all the college graduates of 2012!! As I said earlier, I'm graduating on Saturday (with a shit load of debt!) but yeah, it's a pretty big accomplishment and I'm proud of myself! I'm graduating with a Japanese BA degree and I'm looking forward to using my language abilities in my future jobs so I couldn't ask for anything more (except maybe a more fair way of charging kids for school so that don't end up with a mountain of debt even before they have a job to pay it off...but hey, you can't get everything huh..)