Most of this week entailed nights where getting to sleep was something of an issue and the next morning was very dopey for longer than usual. Despite this, I managed to get around and see some people, being moderately productive.

On Monday Dace was over doing a few bits and pieces of work-stuff, so I talked to him for a fair bit, wrote some emails, made some calls, etc. Later on I saw Serah for dinner and we had a bit of a catch up, then just chilled out at her flat and watched Howl’s Moving Castle. It was still good watching that again, I think I’ll have to get that on DVD at some point. I might even watch it in English, as when the credits were rolling past I saw some actors I like and respect, so it might not be horrific. It was good spending some time with Serah, having some Thai and catching up. Later on I dropped in on Rach’s flat and chatted with her, fixed her wireless and saw Cam for a bit. Cam and I arranged to meet up the next day to go to a movie.

The movie Cam and I went to (with his brother Will as well) was I Am Legend, which I’d been wanting to see for a while. It was very different from the usual zombie fare, and I thought Will Smith did a great job. Anyway, wasn’t a whole lot of catch-up with Cam, just a bit of chit-chat, really. Was good to see him, though. Back to Dad’s after that for some emails and talking to Anastasia, then it was off to the Golden Key Exec meeting. The meeting turned out to only be two other people and as such it didn’t really seem like much got decided on. I’ve indicated that I’ll help out where I can, but if things are going to be like that the whole time, I don’t know how much I’m going to be able to help them. Anyway, after that I came back to Dad’s and looked up some game development resources online, then later Ruby came over and I helped her with a website she has to make for her homework.

On Wednesday I had an earlier than expected start… not as much sleep as I could have got, I reckon. More importantly, I got the call about my provisional scholarship acceptance. The Japanese government has provisionally accepted me and now they just need to finalise the details with the University of Tokyo. There could be some other reason that I’m not able to go there, in which case I’ll be going over to another university that they pick for me. I spent the rest of the day writing emails, fielding calls and doing a bunch of work. On the whole I was feeling pretty good! I had pizza for dinner and watched some anime, then later went over to Rach’s place and chatted with her for a bit. She fed me strawberry pie, which was a new experience – a pretty good one, too. Back to Dad’s for a few short emails before the end of the day.

Another earlier-than-expected start on Thursday – looks like my body is just waking up at a particular time here and I’m going to need to adjust my going-to-bed time or I’m going to be a tired wee bunny while I’m here in NZ. I had a phone call from Alison today, who I’ve been trying to get a hold of for ages. She’s going to try and come down to Christchurch for a bit, or if that doesn’t pan out I’ll try and go up to Hamilton to see her. Dace came over again today, we had lunch together (sushi and BK) and talked some crap. That afternoon after banking a long-overdue cheque, I had coffee with Andrea and talked for ages, as we have a wont to do. I walked her back to her place via the supermarket and chatted a little more, then I head off. Back to Dad’s to chat with Greg for a while, then talk to Anastasia on Skype. I walked down and picked up some Subway for dinner (was going to get fish and chips, but the usual place was closed), then sat down and watched some anime with dinner again. After dinner Ruby came over and I helped her some more with her assignment until quite late, then walked her back to her mum’s place, which is just around the corner from here.

On Friday I was ultra-dopey, but still managed to field some phone calls for Dad’s businesses and do various bits and pieces on my computer. I had thought that a technician was going to be coming over to do some server work, but turns out no. Ruby came over again to tweak her project and to just hang out for a bit, Rach came over briefly to scan some stuff as well. I was going to be going golfing with my grandparents, but that got cancelled. I did have dinner with them however, then had quite a long discussion about all kinds of things with them afterwards, which was really cool.

Yesterday I actually got some sleep, which was nice. I did some laundry and talked some people online. Ruby tried to convince me to go to a party, but I wasn’t feeling the vibe – she settled for having some dinner with me and chilling a bit before she went. I spent a bunch of time porting some of my very old journal entries from the files that were lying around into the same system I’m using now… you’ll see there are some entries back in 2003/2004 now – that’s from my first trip over to the US, although it’s only a partial record, I think I lost the version with the last few entries. Anyway, Ruby came over and we had Indian for dinner, watched movies and had a few drinks… Ruby decided I was more fun than the party in the end and just crashed over after we were done with our movies for the evening.

This morning I talked crap with Ruby for a while, then went to have coffee with Jemma and Emma. We caught up for a good couple of hours sitting outside, and I managed to sunburn my arms a little in the process! Afterwards I dropped in on Mum, who was fresh back from Kaiteriteri – I didn’t go this year for various reasons, but I’m glad that it’s still a family thing to do. We talked about dinner later, then I went back to Dad’s to do some work for a bit. I picked up some fish and chips on the way back, then Mum and I sat around talking and eating. Mum was pretty bushed after her long drive back, so I left a bit earlier than usual, went back to Dad’s, did some email and online stuff for a while, then went over to Ruby’s place and watched Interview with the Vampire and Ella Enchanted. Guess who picked which movie? Despite my misgivings about watching Ella Enchated, I thought it was a fun, cute movie. Narrated by Eric Idle and Cary Elwes as the overly dramatic bad guy… bound to appeal, I suppose. ^^

I’ve been feeling a little directionless lately. I know where I want to go, but I’m not sure about the route to get there. I want to develop games and build up my own game business, I want to visit and work in Japan… I want to be with Anastasia as well… and I want them all at once! This is something of a problem, as I can’t have them all at once and they’re generally going to be wildly different geographies as well. I mean, I’m sure I can do bits and pieces of all of them slowly, but it’s going to be frustrating. Assuming everything goes well on the scholarship, I’ll be in Japan for a while… I might have some opportunities to work a bit while I’m over there, although I’m meant to be focusing on my studies. While I’m there I can develop my skills for making games, although I won’t have a whole lot of opportunities to keep them in practice. I’ll do what I can, I suppose. After my stint in Japan I’ll hopefully be able to go back to a more permanent stay with Anastasia as well. I’m not sure where she’ll be or what degree she may be pursuing at that point. I’m sure I’ll find a way, I guess I just want more of it to be happening now than it is, particularly in terms of being with Anastasia. Long distance is hard, but last year I got to be with her more permanently for pretty much the whole year, and it’s really hard going back to long distance after that. I don’t know… it’s just all a bit much sometimes and I need to remind myself to calm down, take deep breaths – I’ll get there eventually.