I really need to carry my camera around with me more often (or get a digital one - although I tend to prefer my camera as is, there have been times when the thought of being able to review my photos instantly, or being able to upload them to my computer, etc makes me really wish I had a digital one, the difficulty of outputting copies for my photo album aside). I was out on my bike yesterday when I happened to glance towards the mountains and was presented with a truly spectacular vista. It looked like an entire bank of thick, gray clouds had piled up behind the peaks, and then at that moment they started spilling over down the side. I had seen similar occurrences in California, where fog banks occasionally break over a peak and then creep down the other side, but this was a whole scale of magnitude greater. To resort to further visual cliches, it was like watching an onrushing wave, because the clouds literally washed over the peaks and then started pouring down the mountain. It was just an incredibly breathtaking sight, because it went along the entire mountainside at almost the same time. In hindsight, it would not have made a very good picture. This was something that you need to watch the whole thing in order to get the full impact. So now I wish I had a video camera, (or least I wish I had one _then_, and as long as I'm wishing, I also want a pony, and a space shuttle, and a really tasty sandwich).

Shortly thereafter it started raining, and it's been pouring ever since.

I got my test back today, along with a report on my overall grades. I got a 'B' on the test, and am maintaining a 'B' average overall, which is decent, especially considering the usual run of my grades in Japanese, but I just feel that it isn't good enough. I could be trying harder (and unfortunately, I really could). Well, there is the thought that when I start home stay, I'll be more or less completely cut off from all potential distractions (as well as mostly cut off from all fluent English interaction). Then, gambatte gambatte gambatte! I will become super study guy!

Speaking of distractions, today I got to play around with a few interesting personality quizzes, which use your answers to determine which anime character you're most like. For the Anime Bad Boys test, I am Spike Spiegel!!

(well, except without the guns, or the well nigh inevitable tragic destiney). Out of curiosity, I took the Anime Bad Girl quiz, and turned out to be Miyu

(I have a long list of protests about this but since they'd only make sense to me, and maybe one other person, I'll refrain) and in terms of anime pretty boys, I'm most like Larva

(Miyu's oh so pretty protector and general kick ass lackey; it could have been worse, but I am slightly disturbed by the continual references in terms of my character to the world of 'Vampire Princess Miyu').

Finally, I took the Super Hero Quiz, which equaled me with Samurai Jack

(that I can live with, even if it means I have a high potential to become a time lost honorable swordsman). I took that one twice, being much more liberal in my self-interpretation the second time, and got Superfriends' Batman… yeah, I think I'll stick with Jack.