16 days until we leave for japan. VISA guys haven't called yet. bought a (cheap, teal) suitcase; we'll get a second (pink) one if/when we need it. you should always get obnoxiously-coloured luggage containers so you can easily pick them out / people can pick YOU out from the crowd; just a ribbon doesn't work.

been messing with the hand-held sewing machine some more. i've learned a few more things:
• if you sew too close to the edge of your fabric, it won't sew.
• cheap thread will break a ton
• it can use thicker thread; thread type doesn't matter as long as you can get it through the needle.
• turning IS possible; how accurate you can turn, i haven't tested yet
• it CAN sew leather but figuring out the tension for it is too much of a pain in the butt, also you might have to manually move it to the next stitch with your hand because the feet aren't THAT good and the leather doesn't want to self-move. that or it was the weird leather i tried (it had a lining fabric and stuff so i was technically sewing 4 layers).
• technically you should be adjusting the tension or something when you sew over seams (=4 or 6 layers of fabric instead of 2) but you can manually pull the fabric until you're over the seam instead and it'll turn out fine.

as for my sock project in general.... sewing a ton of diamonds together is NOT what i'm meant for, and i'm pretty sure i miscounted and only actually have enough "diamond fabric" for one sock. it's just a test, and i was planning on getting a real tabi sewing pattern when in japan anyway, so it's alright. i'm pretty sure patchwork is why people join sewing circles: you work on my project for a bit and i'll work on yours, PLEASE SEW THESE DIAMONDS FOR ME I'M GOING CRAZY.

finished watching Chobits with my wife, it was just as disappointing as i remembered it but she'd never seen the ending so that's why we watched it. have like 6 eps of From the New World left, which is really killing me because it's too difficult AND is more boring than i remembered. then i've got maybe 15 left of Death Note, and this one nonfiction book from the library i need to read. i probably can't finish another season of any high-level series before i go to japan (where i most likely won't be watching ANY anime unless i go to a friend's house or movie theatre).

i'm really frustrated with my japanese level again... i just feel like i "should" be able to understand more by now. i don't spend 12 hours a day studying or anything so it's to be expected, but sigh. most of my japanese comes from class + anime and manga, so something like a review blog or newspaper article still feels like another world even if i do glance at them on occasion...