January 23rd: When I (temporarily) stopped wearing clothes to bed.

Jan. 23rd, 1986 (Age 7, Evansburg, New Hampshire)

Dear diary, today for show-and-tell I brought my little Colonial American doll. She has on a red, white and blue dress. She has a creamish white hat with ruffles. She is pretty.

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Thursday, January 23rd, 1992 (Age 13, Evansburg)

I had two really weird dreams last night. In the first one I was about seven years old and we had just come back to our house after a very long vacation. Our ghost Percy was gone, and there was a bad ghost in his place called Gobo. I cried and cried that Percy was gone. He left because he thought I wasn’t coming back.

     I was supposed to go to a jazz band sectional after school today, but it was cancelled because of bad weather. Instead Evangeline and I went to our history teacher's room. She worked on her Civil War project, and I got the classroom decorated for the Civil War fair tomorrow.

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Saturday, January 23rd, 1993 (Age 14, Evansburg)

We went shopping and to Donatello's for dinner. I bought another Michael Penn album, Free For All, and the book Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and a water bottle and wood shavings for the hamster cage.

     In the mail I got letters from two of my pen pals and a magazine about Georgia that I had ordered.

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Sunday, January 23rd, 1994 (Age 15, Nagasaki, Japan)

It is very, very, very, very, very, very cold. Very. Tomorrow I'm sending away for a subscription to YM magazine. Hopefully I'll get it!

     I bought a brown fake-suede hat. It's kind of a smaller version of an Australian outback style.

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Monday, January 23rd, 1995 (Age 16, Nagasaki)

I had a long talk on the phone with Sei. It wasn't anything meaningful because he had had too much gin and tonic, but it was fun. I really think he might come to Nagasaki this time. He was doing volunteer earthquake clean-up work in Nagata ward today. He said he saw a dead man's body that was all burnt up.

     On a lighter note, I got a white shirt and black paint markers and drew a design on it, all for 800 yen. I think I was starting to get high on the fumes. Now my wrist aches.

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Tuesday, January 23rd, 1996 (Age 17, Kobe, Japan)

Sei and I didn’t continue yesterday’s discussion about college as I had hoped to. I guess I should just let it be, but his life affects mine and I don’t want to go away and never see him again.

     I’ve decided I want to go to Beaton College in Canada. As soon as they say the word (and I believe they will) I’m going to accept. Even if Pomona wants me, I don’t think I could ever be happy in California.

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Thursday, January 23rd, 1997 (Age 18, Exton, New Brunswick)

All of my pens have decided to run out of ink at the same time. Sei finally bought a VCR and tonight we watched The Birdcage and Independence Day.

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Friday, January 23rd, 1998 (Age 19, Exton)

We're home, in our hopefully permanent new apartment. We spent the whole day unpacking, and at night we went on an Eastern U. pub crawl. I can't wait to go to bed. We tried to bring Juno but there was a guard at the desk downstairs (no cats allowed here), so we took him back to our old place for now.

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Saturday, January 23rd, 1999 (Age 20, Exton)

Sei and I went to the mall so I could do my shopping. I dragged him back and forth between the two shoe stores about a dozen times before I finally decided on some boots. I got the same ones Yuko has, which I've admired for some time. They're a bit small but I'm hoping they'll stretch.

     I'm redoing my homepage once again.

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Sunday, January 23rd, 2000 (Age 21, Exton)

Mandy called, and then I called Sei and Evangeline. I don't know why I can't talk to anyone around here like I can talk to them. I didn't know Sei is planning to stay in the hotel with his parents when they come for the wedding, so that leaves the apartment free for Evangeline and Mandy to stay here. It'll be like a big slumber party! Evangeline will fly in but Mandy is looking for a bus. I don't think there is one, though.

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Tuesday, January 23rd, 2001 (Age 22, Kobe)

We found another apartment that looks good, a three-bedroom right across from the station, and they allow pets. I had actually been wondering about that building because I see it every day when I'm waiting for the train. It would be noisy, but I like the location. Sei would prefer to move farther away though because he's lived here almost his entire life and he's tired of it.

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Wednesday, January 23rd, 2002 (Age 23, Kobe)

Sei doesn't think I'm sexy and I don't either, so I've decided not to wear clothes to bed anymore. It makes me feel sloppy and fat and turns me off of sex. I'll just sleep in my underwear. Tomorrow I start my new job with three classes. One of them is a kid -- I don't know how that'll be. Good luck, Branny!

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Thursday, January 23rd, 2003 (Age 24, Kobe)

A few weeks ago at a meeting the new boss mentioned that I might have to make a short presentation of the curriculum at a meeting for new parents on the 26th and the 2nd. They never mentioned it again so I thought it had been cancelled, but Alexa asked today if I was going. I certainly don't want to, and since nobody has made any effort to get in touch with me about it, I don't think I should have to go.

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Friday, January 23rd, 2004 (Age 25, Kobe)

I thought I might go to Osaka and take a look around the shops after work, but I remembered I'm supposed to be saving money for a car so I came home instead. Today was pay day and if I saw new clothes I liked, I wouldn't be able to stop myself. I'm going to have to be satisfied with knitting, quilting and practicing the violin. Don't I sound Victorian?

     The book I'm reading now is one about Ireland that I borrowed from Rory Brannigan, but he doesn't know it because I just took it off the shelf at the pub. It's a jumbled, incoherent travelogue. The author has turned every casual conversation into a boring essay, but it has made me want to go back to Ireland. Now that Jess is living in the States I have nowhere to stay if I go.

     Sei went to work at 10:30 and left Juno trapped in the bedroom closet till I got home at 8:00. Poor little guy. When I let him out he went straight to his food bowl and then the litter box.

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Sunday, January 23rd, 2005 (Age 26, Kobe)

I was stuck in the house again because it's the end of the month and I have no money. I only have 1,000 yen in my wallet. I went to Sei's parents' house for a couple of hours and worked on my knitting there. I haven't been anywhere since last Monday!

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Monday, January 23rd, 2006 (Age 27, Kobe)

I bought new face wash and cream from L'Occitane, to the tune of 10,000 yen! I've never spent so much on face stuff before so it had better work. I did a lot of research online ahead of time, but I was hoping they'd have a trial size so I could try it out first. I had oily skin until a few years ago, but now my pores always get plugged with dry oil or sebum or whatever, which is supposed to be a sign of dry skin. The stuff I got today has shea butter.

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Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 (Age 28, Kobe)

Kai made dinner for me at his place. Not exactly made, more like cut -- yakiniku, and strawberries and champagne for dessert. I have to admit that I was looking forward to it all day.

     Sei called while I was over there and I learned that Emi has divorced his brother! Shocker! I didn't think she'd go through with it. His poor parents, they've lost both their daughters-in-law and their chances of grandchildren all in one year.

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.