Just kidding ;) I’ve always wanted to try saying that once.

Today was… less different from most days than I had expected it to be. I was just more conscious of my actions. I found myself thinking things like, “hey, in this situations, I should…” and then realizing “hey, that’s what I would normally do!” It seems I’ve already incorporated a lot of Akari’s teachings into my everyday life, so this experiment isn’t a huge shift for me behavior-wise.

It was interesting, however, to explore how my style of interacting affected those around me.

I think I made people smile today. Maybe I do every day. I was aware of it today. It was kind of overwhelming @_@

Oh, and Sasa was right: money and sex. I had to do some un-wonderful things today like negotiating wages for my job for the next five months. Maybe it’s not inherently un-wonderful but I just feel so awkward and nasty when I’m asking people a price. So yeah, that wasn’t great. On the other hand it’s pretty wonderful that these people want me to work for them, and they’re so nice and lively. It’s a great work environment at the LBL communications department, and I’d be honored to be able to continue there for another five months.

You know. So long as I make enough money. Real world. Out there. Etc.

Most of today I wasn’t in direct contact with people (cubicle job does that to ya) but when I saw people (bus drivers, other lab employees in hallways and elevators and cafeteria), I did my best to greet them cheerfully. Actually, this one guy saw me from a few yards away and greeted me, first! It’s amazing what keeping my head up does. I’m used to looking at the ground. Bad habit from middle school and 9-10th grades, I guess. When you look up at people and face them, interaction occurs. This guy smiled and said hi. I responded in kind. It was pretty wonderful.

After work, I went over to a friend’s place with one of my older brothers. We played a board game and there was some of the usual playful trash-talk. I suppose that that wasn’t so wonderful if one were to examine the words alone, but it was pretty great overall—we don’t get together so often, we had a lot of fun, we were intimate and lively.

Oh! And after lunch in the lab cafeteria I accompanied some of my darling kouhai to a food court just beneath the lab where a couple of them got cheap and tasty food. That was a good excuse to get away from my cubicle and enjoy the weather! The sky was very blue and crisp and it was warm out, perfect for enjoying the Berkeley flora.

Things I could have done better today:
- more public transportation
- less consideration of money

I think overall I did well. I was smiling genuinely most of the day (wow, I catch it from myself and can’t stop) and I made about twenty “sutekiiiii” comments to myself. I don’t think I upset anyone and I had a fantastic time with some great folks. I’m looking forward to how the rest of this month turns out.

Tonight’s a quiet night zero, we’re just sitting down to enjoy some anime and ramen. Then we’ll probably sleep. I know it’s weak, but we’ve got a whole weekend ahead of us.

The hotel has paid internet, so I wasn’t going to be able to blog. But just now, a network opened called “Have fun, Weeaboos” and lo and behold, WE HAS SIGNAL.

In other words, I am accessible.