Dammit....

Saturday the 20th I bought an awesome and very expensive costume from a catalog called the Pyramid collection. I needed it by the following Saturday so I decided to get 3-4 day shipping. They said it would be delivered in 3 to 4 business days from my order.... so I gave them Monday for processing... and figured it would at least be shipped on Tuesday and arrive 4 days later on Friday though DHL @ home. This shipping cost me over $20.... So they have an order status thing... and all day Monday and Tuesday it says the status is sitting in warehouse.... so I call the customer service line late Tuesday and say I'm worried about it getting here on time. The guy says it's shipped but the status hasn't changed yet and it will definitely arrive on Friday... I say alright and hang up... I see on Wednesday that the catalog site says it shipped my order, so I go to the DHL website and start tracking it. It says for Wednesday:

11:41 am	Processed at DHL Location.		Wilmington - Clinton Field, OH
11:01 am	In transit.		Wilmington - Clinton Field, OH
1:23 am	In transit.		Coventry Regional Hub, RI

I follow it on Thursday and it says:

10/25/2007 3:14 pm

Depart Facility

Wilmington - Clinton Field, OH

Soo... I keep checking all yesterday for more news and nothing. Nothing this morning when I left for class either. And then nothing when I got home and the mail was delivered already.
Now I'm getting really worried, so I go ahead and call the catalog's customer service line and tell them "It says on your website that if I ordered it Saturday it should be delivered Friday if I paid for the 3-4 day shipping. It's not here and the post office doesn't have it. She says she's very sorry and it's the company's fault because it went out Wednesday instead of Tuesday like it should have and she refunded me half of my shipping costs for it coming a day late. So I said "Okay, as long as it's here by Saturday cause I have a party to go to. Thanks" and hung up.

Then I called a number for DHL tracking to figure out what was going on with my package and they said it had been delayed.... So I asked what that meant as far as the expected arrival of my package. They said Monday would be the day it was delivered. I asked if there was any possible way I could get it by Saturday. I told them I could pick it up at the post office or their distribution place maybe... but nothing... they said it wouldn't work. I was sooo mad. I reeeally wanted to be able to wear that costume to the party tomorrow. So I called the catalog place's customer service again.

After explaining my problem to one lady she escalated me to what sounded like their executive customer service where they can actually do something. It was the same lady I talked to previously. I explained what DHL had told me about the package arriving on Monday and she was very nice and refunded my entire shipping costs... soooo I guess that's not too bad. I would really rather have the dress tomorrow than have the shipping costs, but I guess I can find another costume to wear tomorrow, and I still want to be able to wear the dress I bought on Halloween and to Mark's party so I don't want to return it.

So that's my shipping adventure...

Camping!

Mark and I went camping this weekend. It was great. It was raining on Friday night/Saturday morning so we were a little unsure about even going but we already had everything planned and it didn't look like we'd have many opportunities after I got into my new job. Sooo... we went! We left in the afternoon on Saturday for O'neill park. It was pretty easy to find and although Saturday wasn't optimal weather, it didn't rain and it was generally nice out.
After it got dark we saw a couple across the way had their fire going already so we asked to borrow a bit of their flame. They were overly generous and gave us a bunch of their kindling to start with and some lighter fluid. We got a little fire going but it wasn't too impressive. We had bought the last bags of firewood, and so they weren't very full bags. The girl in the couple (Liz) came over to ask if we wanted any hot water and we said we'd already gotten some hot cocoa going, but thanks! I asked her if she wanted any of our smores, and she said she had marshmallows but her boyfriend (Crispin) didn't like smores because they're too sweet. I said she shouldn't miss out on the smores awesomeness just because he didn't want any, and she could have some of our chocolate and graham crackers, and she accepted... We ended up abandoning our pathetic fire to join their roaring one and share smores and stories around the fire. It was a really fun night. In the morning they left, but they left us their leftover lighter fluid and logs (they were really good logs) Because of them, we didn't need to get more firewood for our second night camping, We even had one extra log we gave away. Thanks Liz and Crispin!!!
Sunday was a beautiful. It was nice and sunny but not hot out. We went for a hike in the morning and went up a big hill... then we walked back a ways and decided to try and find a way back down the hill... We found a path but it was a pretty steep one. The trails were technically closed because of rain too, but it wasn't too muddy. It was difficult to get down and I was tense the whole way. I ended up sliding on my butt for parts of it. The descent wore me down pretty well. Now, all of my muscles are sore from being so tense.
After that we decided to look for stuff to do outside the camp, and we called Mark's parents to see if they knew of anywhere to go. They knew of a place but we spent forever looking for it. We eventually gave up after we found that the directions we were given were wrong... like 5 times... and when we asked the sheriffs and park rangers if they knew where it was they had no clue.
We also ran some errands that day. We went to the grocery store and got some hamburger helper minus the hamburger. to cook in a pot over the fire. We also got me a pad for the ground so I wouldn't toss and turn so much at night. The ground is a very hard thing that is not fun to be sleeping on. The pad really helped the second night. I was happy to have it. Monday morning we pretty much just woke up, ate some breakfast and left for home!
It was a great trip and we definitely have to camp again sometime. Yay camping!

I'm blogging this.

I just got a shirt that says "I'm blogging this." on it... I might wear it sometime, but don't expect me to actually blog whatever I'm doing necessarily. I might though!

I got a new job!!!!

I got a new job! It will be the best job ever! I'm going to be a homework helper at the public library. I get paid pretty well for it which is awesome. I think it's a little under $12 an hour.... I'm really happy about it. I won't have to work at the convenience store much longer and that makes me happy. It will take a while for the paperwork to go through though, so it's good that I can keep my c-store job for now. Yay for multiple dollars above minimum wage and a job that's worthwhile!

I did this cause I was bored... Always bored... so draw on me k?

Dream

I took a nap and I had a dream that my mom, my grandma, and me were traveling from Australia to Louisiana by Canoe.... I don't know why... We were making a pit stop in south Africa when I woke up. I'm weird... yeah....

Back from Japan!!!!!!

I have been so busy, I haven't been able to post anything about my trip until now.... It is 5 weeks after I left the US for Japan, and now I am finally back in the states again! Yay! I had so much fun in Japan, but it really is great to be home once more. Japan is soooo different from here. I'll list some things I noticed:

USA: Most all workers look bored, hardly any look happy, and a good number look very grumpy.
Japan:Every time you enter a store they say "Irasshaimasen!" which is like "Welcome" and when they take your money or card when you pay they take it carefully with both hands and give you your change in the same careful manner. They either look happy to be working or very bored.
USA: We have a little bit of rain in the winter and it is very hot and dry in the summer. We use umbrellas a little in the rain but many just wear a big rain jacket. In the summer we wear a hat or sunscreen to protect from the sun.
Japan: Japanese rainy season is during the summer. It's hot one day and rainy the next. It's both hot and rainy at once a lot of the time and its very humid in the early summer. Japanese people always use umbrellas in the rain, and to protect from the sun they often carry parasols.
USA: It is common for girls to wear sleeveless shirts or flip flops in the summer.
Japan: I hardly saw anyone with a sleeveless shirt or flip flops in Japan. If their shirt was sleeveless, they always had a mini jacket over it or something.
USA: You see vending machines inside buildings or schools and they pretty much only have drink or small snack vending machines.
Japan: Vending machines are EVERYWHERE. They have vending machines for normal drinks, for iced coffee, for cigarettes, even for french fries and squid balls sometimes. They line the streets.
USA: There are a few convenience stores and they have very little real food. 7-11, ampm.
Japan: There are tons of convenience stores and they have plates of pretty decent food. Family mart, Lawson, 7-11, and ampm.
USA: Some people use buses, few use trains, most people drive. Some take bikes. Buses cost 90 cents no matter how many stops you go. Streets are wide for big cars.
Japan: Most everyone takes busses, trains, subways, bikes and walks to get where they need to go. Sidewalks are crowded because of this. There are bikes parked all over, with many abandoned ones. There was a 2 level bike parking structure at the university. Because of gas prices, motorcycles are popular. Streets are very small and Japanese people only take cars occasionally.
USA: Smoking is tolerated, but smoking inside restaurants and bars is not. Many non-smokers avoid secondhand smoke when possible.
Japan: Almost everyone smokes. There are smoking sections in most restaurants and ashtrays everywhere. They have special rooms for smokers in many buildings but most people in Japan are used to secondhand smoke and don't mind enough to say anything.
USA: TV has a large variety of programs. The news shows the news for the day and thats mostly it.
Japan: There is a lot of comedy on TV. A lot of the news and TV shows are filled with people eating things and exclaiming over how delicious they are.
USA: Foods from all countries.
Japan: I saw, Korean, and American food. There were a LOT of places serving soft serve ice cream cones. Every tourist trap had them They love ice cream in Japan.

Thats all for now! More later! Go look at these pictures I took.... There are lots!: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v47/xmysticalmelodyx/Japan/

Finals are OVER!

I'm going to get some blood drawn at the health center and then that's it! No more being on campus for me allll summer.... Unless I take summer school.... Which I probably will. At least I get 5 weeks away.

I just looked at it, and I passed geology class, yay! .....by 5 points... lol
Yeah I know... I cut it close... but whatever at least I got the grade.

I'm going to be on a plane to Japan on Monday. Crazy eh? Kowaii desu yo! I'm going to have a good time though I'm sure. I can't wait to go to the English club on campus, lol. Well, I still need to get properly dressed and have food and head down to the health cebter and stuff.... sooo I'm gonna go for now. Sayonara!