Japanes - Days 45-47

I really need to write this blog daily again, or I'm gonna start forgetting important stuff
Sunday was the day I'd decided to go walk around the school festival with everyone. I texted a few people, but one of them had to be in the lab and was too lazy to go in until late, one of them who I'd prearranged to go to the festival with never messaged me, and then the other was talking to his girlfriend on MSN which was at least a valid reason. So I decided to take a long walk into the festival waiting for replies on my phone. Sat for a little while listening to the music playing on one of the stages, then walked up to meet one of my friends when he finally replied. We walked around for a bit, I got some takoyaki from another friend's stand (was my first time trying it, but it's nice ^^), and then my friend was feeling kinda tired so we took a slow mosey back to the dorm. Then Jen called and said she was finally ready, so I took a slow mosey BACK to the festival and met her. We walked around for a bit, but as I was in a very bad mood I didn't enjoy it much. We watched a display on one of the stages which was kinda acid-trippy, then something traditional, after which I decided to call it a night. After getting back here, I talked with one of my other friends and discovered that the whole Saturday night thing had been a big misunderstanding - he'd posted on Facebook to say to whoever wanted to come that they could come, and I hadn't seen it, plus he hadn't realised that everyone wanted to go along. It sounds like they had fun, but they also got soaked so probably a good thing I didn't go. I then went out with the others for a little bit, but I wasn't feeling it so I headed back, and hung out with another friend for a little while
On Monday, it was a national holiday for the end of school festivals, so I slept in until 11am. I was kinda bored so I messaged a few friends. Jen nearly busted her toe so we couldn't go to the festival as we'd planned, and I ended up studying Japanese for a few hours with a friend in preparation for Tuesday's test, then at 6ish a group of us had dinner at the Ichinoya cafeteria. I still haven't eaten at the Hirasuna one, so I really must sometime
Today I was back in the lab at 9 for a presentation. It was about pancreatic cells differentiating into different types when one type is almost destroyed. If I'd been awake/fluent in Japanese I think it would've been pretty interesting. In the lab, I discovered that I'd used the wrong antibody in the Western blot on Friday/Saturday, so I spent today setting up the repeat - I have to use tubulin antibodies, not Cullin-1. In Japanese we had to do the roleplay exam - I got given the roleplay where I had to ask my sempai about borrowing a book on my specialist subject. I ended up asking the teacher for a book on human genetics, preferably in English, but Japanese might be fine, and then reserving a book that was out on loan because the only one she had at the time was pretty out of date. I don't think she had any major criticisms about my presentation, though I think I paused and hesitated a little too often. I'll get the feedback tomorrow I think, during the preparation for our pair presentations (which I'm giving on Friday rather than Thursday because I'll be absent from Thursday's lesson on account of a lecture on transgenics which I missed last month). Wow, saying 'last month' reminds me of how long I've already been here... Plus Brad gets here in about 2 weeks, which will be fun :-)
During my time in the lab today, I managed to write another poem:

Choice Of Damnation

How can I move into the future,
When I remain chained to the past?
Wishing for things that could be,
While mourning those that didn't last.

Do I move on, accept defeat,
And from that once-bright future turn?
Or do I wait in darkness,
In hope that past joy will return?

My plight recalls to mind the tale,
Of one they once called Great,
Chained to the past, he fell and died,
I shall not share his fate.

In the evening, while I was finishing off a stage of my Western blot, I got a text saying that a group of people were going to sushi. I managed to get the gel set up for an overnight, then zoomed from the lab to Hirasuna in about 5 minutes, getting there before a few other people even :-D We then headed up around Tsukuba Centre and along to Hamazushi. I know a few people had been there before, but it was my first time having sushi since I got to Tsukuba, so I was pretty excited. I managed to finish off 10 plates (they only counted 9 ;-)), and even got to try a natto sushi. It tasted weird, but I still want to try the real deal sometime. After this, we rode down to the Seibu and bought some ice cream, before heading home
And so here I am, listening to music and talking on MSN :-) I shall try to update more frequently again from now on, as I said. Until then, nighty night ^^