by 
Well, has this been one crazy summer. Imagine the movie Blank Check from the nineties, but without the money, the crazy high-jinks, John Candy… uh, you know what, this summer has been nothing like Blank Check. Let me start over.
Well, has this been one crazy summer. Imagine nothing, because I am just going to tell you right now what I did. Come with me and you’ll be in pure imagination… of what you are about to read. Right now.
I digress so often I should be put in a home. My summer was flawless. Hate to rub it in, but it was. Not only did I get to spend glorious time with my people (by which I mean my family and friends, not ardent followers of a cult) I spend two and a half weeks in the impressively clean Japan. And when I say impressively clean, I mean it. They are trash Nazis over there. If you litter, you are basically cast out into the fiery pit. Basically.
Japan is an incredibly country! The charming, tiny people are so kind it is almost alarming. They seem like they live to serve and to manufacture perfect dining experiences. Seriously, the food there was unreal! I think about 87% of my photos from the trip are actually of food. My stomach is my compass, what can I say!
Levity aside, it really was a life changing adventure of a trip! The Japanese are such a kind and peaceful people, and the beauty of their country reflects the same peace and harmonious generosity. Even in the areas affected by the tsunami, there was an overwhelming hospitality shared. I was truly touched and grateful to spend time with such geniality!
We had a ball! We ate, we drank, we were merry. There were parades and decorative rice fields and my goodness, so much food. They eat surprisingly large amounts for such a small people. It was painfully obvious and somewhat depressing for me. They could eat intense amounts of food that not even John Goodman could dream of and still weigh as much as a bag of Christmas tree ornaments. I wish you could inject Asian genetics intravenously and speed up your metabolism.
Anyhoo, my summer essentially consisted of Japanese perfection, heroic blockbusters, many trips Venice beach, way too much money spent on sushi, Disneyland, way too much Italian food at Buca, helping my sister-from-another-mister with her store on Etsy.com (DistressedVintage, check her out! Hand-dyed treasure chests in the guise of shorts.) perfect purchases my like Al Pacino mugshot mug that I got from a ¥370 store, a beautiful drive to northern California to see my grandmother and my great-grandmother (WHO IS 97 OMG), and rockin’ out with the most glorious playlist known to man including but not limited to fantastic old men who still rock leather pants. I am talking to you, Robert Plant. Keep it up, my friend.
It was a beautiful, memorable, eccentric and possibly ironic summer. I finished it off with a glorious visit to Chapman University to visit a friend where we swam in the fountains and ate mushroom and asparagus crêpes. Yeah, I am THAT sophisticated. You do not even know.
But now we come to the important stuff, the meaningful stuff: school. Yes, guess who is back, back again? And no, it is not Eminem because he hasn’t had a single in a year. He should though.
Okay, so what was I saying? Oh, right. School! That one thing we are all here for! This semester is going to be incredible, and I say that because
It is.
I believe in wishful thinking.
I could not think of another adjective.
I am taking astronomy, an astronomy lab course, a writing course, a screenwriting course, and a photography as art course. It is gonna be boss, meine freunde! I have class Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, so I am probably going to be spending some quality time at my friend’s casa between Friday nights and Saturday mornings. Sometimes sleeping is better than driving. But never while you are driving. Than driving is better.
Because school is only about forty-five minutes from my casa, I drive. I do not dorm because that would be weird. But, I can understand the anxiety and stress of moving into a dorm because I have helped other friends do it. Adventures and new things can be scary, but no matter!
Helen Keller said, “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
So embrace the new stresses of college life, dorm life, but not thug life. It is going to be a beautiful year, and I am excited to share it with you! C’est une belle vie, mes amis. C’est toujours une belle vie…
Much love, to you. Always to you.
