Sunday was the first day that I have gone out and not been able to take out my camera because it was too wet. Oregon skipped autumn and jumped straight to winter which honestly is fine with me. My absolute favorite days to go walking are the ones where it’s raining hard enough that no one else goes out. I went again to Elk Rock Island and I was the only person on the whole rock. It’s a uniquely surreal feeling to be the only person within walking distance. I often think about what would happen if I were to fall and incapacitate myself. If the river flooded and closed off the land bridge to the island I would have no way to escape and no one would find me for perhaps weeks. I don’t think about it in a morbid way, more of a self-reflective way.

I’ve felt a pretty great weight lifted off of my shoulders since finishing my JET application. I got the last document I needed from my doctor and once I submit that it will be finalized. I’ve done it enough that I know better than to feel hope about the outcome, and I’m also aware that dwelling on any potential fixes is pointless too. It’s best to just shoot one’s shot and move on with the trial and tribulations of daily life. I have my JLPT test in about a month and I’m also trying not to dwell on that too much. I went to the Kinokuniya in downtown Portland yesterday and flipped through a test prep book and I realized immediately that it would just make things worse to invest in something like that now. I’ve looked over the points that are usually covered on the test and I know the vast majority of them already so I think diving into a random book full of arbitrary test taking hints would just muddy the water. I’m also kind of interested in the experiment side of things when it comes to my method for learning. I’m a little curious if a year of straight input and very little traditional studying will prepare me for a standardized test. I’ve listened to a number of people who have done the same thing over several years and easily passed the highest level of the test so who knows. If there wasn’t a year wait between tests and one hundred dollars on the line I would just whing it.