The Lighthearted Wanderer

...can refer to many things, but today I am thinking that it has something to do with what happens with a person returns somewhere after some period of time and can't help but remember the previous visits there. Symptoms include: - Frequently beginning sentences with "Last time I was here" or "Where I was here last time" - Comparing one's surroundings to those of the previous visit - Remembering one's mental state and life state during the previous visit, and reflecting upon whether or not one has changed much since that time Caution:  Place Memory and associated symptoms can be triggered by a variety of factors. One may be going about normal daily activity (such as walking or buying food) and suddenly recall a moment from the past. Don't be alarmed, that feeling that time is passing both slowly and quickly is completely normal... And no...that fear that you have about time passing so quickly that you will one day wake up and find you...

The past week has been kind of ridiculous with regards to travel, here's the overview: Fri, Oct 14: Straight from school to Maiko station to Sannomiya to Osaka Itami airport Sat, Oct 15: Gakuentoshi -> Maiko station -> Shirahama (fail because the Nada Fighting festival got rescheduled to a different day) -> Himeji -> Itayado -> Gakuentoshi Sun, Oct 16: Gak -> Sannomiya -> Arima -> a round on the Kobe Port Liner -> Harborland Mon, Oct 17: Gak -> Kyoto (I won't even go into the travel fails on my part from this day) Tues, Oct 18: All over Kyoto with mom, boyfriend, and his parents :) and then back to Gak Wed, Oct 19: Gak -> Sannomiya -> Shin-Kobe -> Hiroshima to see castle and Peace Park Thurs, Oct 20: Hiroshima -> Miyajima island -> back to Gak Fri, Oct 21: an anomaly! just to school and back and today? maybe Osaka? Here's a pic from each day! Himeji Castle (with main tower under construction) Another Kobe...

To going on a weekend trip with no idea of where I was going, but simply putting my faith in the drivers... To singing roadtrip songs and being on a firstname basis with Christina, Alanis, Natalie, and Beyonce (okay well she's on a firstname basis with everyone)... To freezing cold streams and steaming hot onsens...and making friends with locals while everyone is naked... To jumping off rocks and screaming like your life depended on it...and to all the support from your friends after your epic fail landing left your legs, butt, and arms tingly shocked be essentially unharmed... To barbequed cookies and rediscovering the wonders of Costco... To drinking games and terrible dance moves... To being in a place so beautiful that the word beautiful sounds insufficient... To wonderful memories, of being young and remembering that these are the stories I'll remember when I get old, and so now is the time to live those stories :)

"when I was choosing this car, I had a choice between airbags or tinted windows" "---tinted windows, ftw!" What did I get myself into???!