January 18th: When I had weird dreams and got bit in the boob.

Jan. 18th, 1986 (Age 7, Evansburg, New Hampshire)

Dear diary, I like stickers a lot. You can put them where you want.  Some are pretty and some are not so pretty, but ugly. But I still like some stickers.

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1/18/88 (Age 9, Evansburg)

Dear Diary, today on the dating game there was a boy named Donn. The girl picked him. They’re a match made in heaven. Kids at heart.

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Friday, January 18th, 1991 (Age 12, Evansburg)

Hi! I’m very bored. I wanted to go to the drug store, but my mom wouldn’t take me. I hate the winter because you have no freedom. You can’t ride your bike anywhere, so you have to depend on your parents if you want to go anywhere. No fair! And since there’s a war going on, parents want to stay home and watch the news.

     I want to rent a movie. Hey, what a coincidence! A commercial for Home Vision Video just came on the radio. I want to see Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Bye!!!

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Saturday, January 18th, 1992 (Age 13, Evansburg)

We went to the mall today. I bought a Disney’s Peter Pan mug, and a Far Side calendar called “Weiner Dog Art.”

     I hate not having any privacy in my own house. I can’t wait for my aunt and uncle to leave. It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just their staying in my house that bugs me.

DREAM #4

It started off when my family took Mandy to Manchester with us. My parents wanted to go to K-Mart. Mandy and I wanted to go to the movies. Fortunately, they were right next to each other. Mandy and I went and saw an old black and white movie. When it was over, Mandy wanted to see another movie that some junior high kids had produced and directed. I said we should go find one of my parents to tell them we’d be in there for another two hours. Mandy complained that we’d miss part of the show if we tried to find them, so we just stayed and watched it anyway. After that was done we went out to the van. There was no sign of my parents or my brother, so we went in and watched another movie. It was a Christmas cartoon. Mandy was amazed by the size of the theaters in Manchester compared to Evansburg. When we left this time, we could see the rest of my family coming out of K-Mart. They waved, and we waved back and began to walk toward them.

     Suddenly, the sounds of a gunshot rang in the air, and then another. People scattered in all directions. Mandy and I ducked behind a car. When we looked up again, there was nobody there but a little baby wrapped in blankets lying face-down on the sidewalk, crying and crying.

     Mandy ran over to the baby, grabbed it, and that’s the last I saw of her.

DREAM #5

My mom (except she was some strange lady) and I were standing in between some cars and watching a Civil War parade. Mom looked over and recognized someone she knew also watching, a man named John who was a real Civil War buff and his fifteen-year-old son, Bobbin. We went over to talk to them. My mom agreed that we should all take a vacation together (don’t ask me why).

     The next thing I knew, I was in a room at a hotel. The room I was in was all showers, and I was drying off. When I was dressed, I went out to find my mother. Bobbin was waiting for me in the hall. He asked me why I always used the showers with the cloth shower curtains instead of the ones with the sliding glass doors. I couldn’t figure out how he would know that, so I just said I had no reason.

     Bobbin and I did everything together for a month, and my mother spent all her time with John.

     Then one day we decided to go to the movies. After it was over, we went outside. Two shots were fired -- one hit John and the other hit Bobbin. The police arrested them because they thought they had shot themselves. John and Bobbin thought my mom and I shot them, and they said they’d never speak to us again.

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Monday, January 18th, 1993 (Age 14, Evansburg)

No school today because of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. It seems like I haven't been in school much lately. I'm not complaining.

     I spent most of the morning writing my first guitar song. It's called "Flowers Bloom at Night" and still has a few bugs to be worked out. The lyrics are a bit nonsensical.

     I wish I could form a band but I don't have the guts right now. If I did, I'd like to be the only girl and one of the lead singers (pardon my vanity). I'd ask Casey McNabb from jazz band to be in it. Why, with just the two of us we'd have two singers, two songwriters, two guitar players, one piano player and one drummer. We could be a duo.

     Right now I've completely decided to attend the University of Georgia in Athens, though when the time comes I'm sure to have changed my mind again. It's a small city where almost everything is in walking distance. There's a mall, movie theater, and lots of clubs where local bands play. Most of the people there are art students or musicians, and everybody knows everyone else. Every once in a while a person from a major (or minor) record label will come down and sign a new band.

     If and when we move to Tokyo this summer, I'm going to make a new identity for myself. I'm going to act more outgoing and friendly, and maybe there I can start a band.

      I'm going to be getting contact lenses. That is, if I can put them in by myself this time. I'm determined to do it. I don't want to hide behind these ugly glasses and be stereotyped for the rest of my life!

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Tuesday, January 18th, 1994 (Age 15, Nagasaki, Japan)

There was a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in California this morning. So far twenty-seven people were killed and 250 injured. Who would ever want to live there?

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Wednesday, January 18th, 1995 (Age 16, Kobe, Japan)

It's so much worse than we thought when it first happened. I remember all of us standing out in the field wondering if we would have school that day. Now over 2,000 people are dead, everyone's houses are ruined, and some of our friends are missing. I hope Essi and Max are okay somewhere.

     I'm really sick right now because we didn't get much to eat. This whole side of the island was evacuated to our school, so there are literally thousands of people here. They only got half a hot dog each for dinner. There's supposed to be a gas leak on the island, so we can't turn on our heaters. We're also supposed to have an aftershock just as big as the original quake sometime this week. I really want to go home.

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Thursday, January 18th, 1996 (Age 17, Kobe)

I’ve almost finished making my first dress for my senior project. It’s pretty good if I do say so myself, especially with no pattern and sewn by hand.

     Sei and I had a lengthy discussion this afternoon about the coming year. He’s preparing to take the T.O.E.F.L. in February, as well as Japanese college entrance exams. I admitted that I thought there was only a 10% chance of him being able to go to college with me. He said even if he couldn’t make it this year he would definitely come the next. I wonder.

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Saturday, January 18th, 1997 (Age 18, Exton, New Brunswick)

My dad was supposed to call me when they got to Colorado but he never did. Now it's too late for me to call Joe's house tonight.
     The Beaton College Theatrical Society put on Shakepeare's Twelfth Night tonight. I remember when Evangeline and I saw it at the local theater in Evansburg in 9th grade, and this wasn't nearly as good.

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Sunday, January 18th, 1998 (Age 19, Exton)

I've gone to the movie theater a lot this month, but this afternoon I saw by far the best film yet -- Good Will Hunting. It reminded me of my favorite movie Dead Poets Society, but now I'm not sure which one's better.

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Monday, January 18th, 1999 (Age 20, Exton)

Guy and his friend came over and I helped them with their English lit homework. I still don't know when I start work, but I hope it's soon.

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Tuesday, January 18th, 2000 (Age 21, Exton)

I have absolutely nothing to write about. I hope my wedding invitations come soon so I can get them sent out. The Unitarian Church keeps calling me and asking for money now. I love churches but I hate the people who run them. They think they're fulfilling some kind of spiritual need, when in reality every person has what their spirit needs already, if they could just look inside themselves and find it. No one needs church for that.

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Thursday, January 18th, 2001 (Age 22, Kobe)

Again, no news today. Work is a drag. Did I mention that they've got me teaching all the high-level lessons now? Before I was doing the beginners and I was getting good at it. Now I have to sustain conversations for six hours. It's like torture for me.

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Friday, January 18th, 2002 (Age 23, Kobe)

I sent money for my student loan to the U.S., but I could only send enough for this month. The bad exchange rate is killing me. I picked up the latest local English magazine and saw a few listings for jobs that I might be able to do, but most of them are too far away or for teaching kids. There's an interesting one for an English cafe. I'll try calling it tomorrow.

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Saturday, January 18th, 2003 (Age 24, Kobe)

I'll start off with today's pissy news, because I'm so mad about it. I went with Sei to his friend's house. They have a one-year-old labrador retriever. It hasn't had any training and it jumps on people and bites, not once but repeatedly. He bit me three times on my left arm and it's bruised, swelling and hurts to close my hand. Then he bit my boob and it left a long red welt through three layers of clothing. Obviously I'm a dog lover, but I wanted to take that dog and slam some obedience into it because no one else is doing it! A dog that size could bite someone's face right off. It even started to run off dragging my $150 handbag.
     Before that episode I had a good evening. All of the teachers from school went to Dhara and Arushi's house for dinner, authentic Indian food. It was great. They're sisters-in-law and they all live together with their husbands and Dhara's kids. Tomorrow is Alexa's Ibiza dance party at the small nightclub in our neighborhood, but I'm already partied out.

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Sunday, January 18th, 2004 (Age 25, Kobe)

I finished knitting my first sweater for myself! I only have to fix the bottom somehow because it's curling up.

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Tuesday, January 18th, 2005 (Age 26, Kobe)

I ordered the Stitch 'N Bitch book from Amazon Japan and it arrived in just one day! My online friend founded a local Stitch 'N Bitch group in her town in Scotland and I'm thinking of starting one up for Kansai.

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Wednesday, January 18th, 2006 (Age 27, Kobe)

Kana is back! She's one of my students who has been missing her lessons since September and I thought she was gone for good, but her mom called last night and she started again today. She was completely hyper and out of control but at least she remembered how to play the piano.
     My back has been hurting again and it's hard to stand up straight.

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Thursday, January 18th, 2007 (Age 28, Kobe)

I had plans to meet Patricia Goldbloom at the Dub tonight. It was my half-day at work and the weather was warm and beautiful, but I stayed home waiting on a package from Evangeline. It contained all my favorite goodies from home: flavored coffees, cocoa, cheese popcorn, and cereal. She also got me some DVDs.
     Kai met me for coffee near my house at 7:30 and then I went off to the Dublin Tavern, but only Patricia, Brad and Manabu were there. I left at 11:00 after a pint and a Red Eye. This time I was not a good girl because it was still early, so I took the train to Kai's station instead of mine. We chatted and listened to jazz and drank tea till 1:30, and then he drove me home.
     My life is so different from what it was just six months ago! It's unbelievable. Why did I put up with Sei for so long?

Disclaimer: This blog is a work of non-fiction. Most personal names (except for those of celebrities) and place names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals.