January 25th: When my poem got published.

Jan. 25th, 1986 (Age 7, Evansburg, New Hampshire)

Dear diary, today was the day of the Super Bowl Twenty. I was cheering for the Bears. My mother was cheering for the Patriots. I was happy when I heard the Bears won.

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1/25/88 (Age 9, Evansburg)

Dear Diary, ho hum! The day is a bum!!! Also my father mentioned going roller skating! Yay for dads! Hip, hip, hooray!!!

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1/25/90 (Age 11, Evansburg)

I'm watching TV and Night Court is coming on at any minute. Yeah! I’m talking to Erica on the phone. She’s weird! She’s making a Ken doll talk with a British accent. Be right back.

     “Noooooooooooooooooo!” That’s what me and Erica just yelled together. We just found out that Night Court won’t be on because of a stupid show called Feedback! Bye!!!

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Saturday, January 25th, 1992 (Age 13, Evansburg)

Today we went to the Auburn Mall, and I brought Mandy. She’d never been there. I bought an R.E.M. poster. I’m going to hang it on my bedroom wall next to my Hook poster.

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Monday, January 25th, 1993 (Age 14, Evansburg)

It was an absolutely boring, uneventful day. That is obviously a lie though, since there is no such thing as a day without events. I started computer class, I babysat, I watched TV, I listened to music, I read. It was a normal day.

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Tuesday, January 25th, 1994 (Age 15, Nagasaki, Japan)

Today was a wonderful day! I got two letters that made me very happy.

     A few weeks ago I sent a letter to a band called Barbara that I read about in Sassy magazine. They had asked for letters so a record company would sign them. Today I got a letter back from the guitarist (aged nineteen). It was a too-good-for-words letter for me. It's a "I want to be your friend, please write to me again" type of letter, not a "thank you for your letter, we got many" letter. I think that his band has probably broken up already because he's writing from Florida and the address in the magazine ad was in Georgia. He also sent a worn-out patch that has a football helmet and says "All Stars," like the kind little boys wear on their overalls.

     My second wonderful letter was from the National Library of Poetry. A few months ago I sent a poem for their contest, and I'm a semi-finalist! I'm going to have a chance at the prizes, and they're going to publish my poem in a book! All I have to do is sign the release form. Aiiiiiiiieeeeeeee!

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Wednesday, January 25th, 1995 (Age 16, Nagasaki)

Sei sent me the silver bracelet he always wears, and a note with it saying "I love you." I'm feeling really depressed tonight. He says he's going to come visit me, but I don't know. I wish I could tell him how much I need him, but when we talk on the phone I can't bring myself to say anything at all. I hate myself for it.

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Thursday, January 25th, 1996 (Age 17, Kobe, Japan)

Sei and I had a big argument on the phone. I’m going out to Bar Pacer with just Essi tomorrow night, and deep down he doesn’t want me to go. He’s afraid some other man will touch me or kiss me. It’s such an insult. He can’t seem to understand that I can stop someone from doing that, indeed, I could even hurt them if I wanted to. I was shocked to realize he thinks I’m weak because I’m a woman. He needs to see that I’m not.

     I also discovered how deeply hurt he’s been by women, especially that former girlfriend of his that he caught with another man. He must have really cared for her. If I could get my hands on her I’d wring her worthless little neck. It’s because of that one incident that he doesn’t trust me to go out without him. Will he ever trust me? He even broke down crying this time. Now I wish I wasn’t going out tomorrow, because I won’t be able to enjoy it anyhow knowing how he feels.

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Saturday, January 25th, 1997 (Age 18, Exton, New Brunswick)

Tonight was the Beaton College formal ball at the Lord's Hotel, and I was a bit disappointed. Fiona and I went and got our hair done for $25 each. Then we, along with Sei, went to her boyfriend Andrew's apartment to drink before the ball. At 10:00 we left for the Lord's (it started at 9:00 -- I hate being fashionably late). I wore my blue Chinese dress that Sei's mom had custom-made for me in Hong Kong. I danced with Andrew once and Sei a few times, and that was it. I spent most of the night sitting alone because Sei had run off to who-knows-where. I had hoped to get a dance in with all my friends, but it never happened. I felt like the junior high school wall flower all over again.

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Sunday, January 25th, 1998 (Age 19, Exton)

Sei and I have fought viciously for the past two nights, but I think tonight will be better. I haven't been outside once this weekend because of the bad weather.

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Monday, January 25th, 1999 (Age 20, Exton)

Nothing of note to write about today. I've been piddling around on the internet more than I should. One discovery I made is that I probably can graduate with honours in May 2000.

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Tuesday, January 25th, 2000 (Age 21, Exton)

I picked up the rings. They're white gold and I thought they'd have a yellow tinge, but they look just like platinum. Sei will like that. I had terrible cramps today and couldn't go to class (I couldn't go yesterday either because of the weather), but I got my whole essay written between 6:00 and 11:00. Now my printer isn't working again, even though I bought new ink. It just won't print anything. Hopefully I can print my paper at school.

     I think my next task for the wedding is to find a baker and florist.

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Thursday, January 25th, 2001 (Age 22, Kobe)

I had a shitty day. First, Sei was really mean to me last night. When he's wrong he tries to make me feel like I'm wrong. Then I had to teach an awful class. There's one girl who always has a knowing smirk on her face or looks bored. She's the highest level student at our whole school but she won't contribute at all in class. I want to request not to have her anymore, but no one else can teach her, either. I wish she would quit. I wish they would let me teach beginners again. I wish I could get hit by a car.

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Friday, January 25th, 2002 (Age 23, Kobe)

I had just one class today. It was two high-level women. I never know if I'm giving them what they want because I don't know how their previous teachers did things. From what I can see, the others teach almost 100% grammar.

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Saturday, January 25th, 2003 (Age 24, Kobe)

I did a lot of sewing today. I finished all my "tall ship" blocks for my charm square quilt and added some of the borders, and I finished the fleece pajama bottoms that killed my old sewing machine. I also listed on eBay some of the fabric that didn't sell in my net shop this month.

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

Ed and Sayoko Wilder asked me to make a patchwork throw for their sofa, so today I went over there to measure it and have tea. They have so many nice antiques at their place. Afterwards I went to buy material and also got frames for the cross stitch sampler I made on my trip to the U.S. and Canada last year, and one for the sampler I bought at the antique shop in Evansburg. I don't think that one is very old, maybe from the '50s or '60s. It had a company name stamped on the linen: ___ & Bradford, Colonial (Crosstitch?). Anyway, it looks better in its new frame and it's now hanging in the bedroom.

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Tuesday, January 25th, 2005 (Age 26, Kobe)

Not much to report today. The eastern U.S. and Canada are in the midst of a giant blizzard. I hope the roof of my cottage doesn't collapse.

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Wednesday, January 25th, 2006 (Age 27, Kobe)

I went and paid off all the late bills this morning. What a relief. My American Visa card's balance has been paid off, too. We still have some extra money and there's a red-headed softie Cabbage Patch Kid up for adoption that I would love to have, but I can't decide because I have two already. They're so expensive, I'm afraid of handling them lest they get dirty.

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Thursday, January 25th, 2007 (Age 28, Kobe)

Since I had the opportunity after going home sick yesterday, I decided to take the day off today. The owner said they'd find someone to cover me. I'll lose about 15,000 yen from my next pay check, but I'm glad I did it. It was a beautiful, warm day and I took a walk down to LalaPort, then went to the Dublin Tavern to watch Kai perform. He came back to my place afterwards. Now I only have one more day of work before the weekend.

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.