Updates for Taiwan: We bought our plane tickets!!! The official dates are July 5-30. They were almost $3,000... Thank goodness the University in Taiwan is footing that bill... I only have to pay for tuition and fees.Although I'm really struggling with lesson plans. Partly because I've never written one before. The other reason is that I'm worried that all the awesome and ridiculous games I played to make my language learning experience fun are way too juvenile for the university level. I'd think they were fun... but I'm notoriously easily amused.

RICHARD III opens Thursday!!! For those of you who are unaware, for the past month or so I have been in rehearsals for Shakespeare's Richard III. I'm Lady Anne. Basically, Richard seduces me, marries me, I get crowned his queen, and then he kills me. Super. (It's actually really fun.) It's the first time I've ever done Shakespeare and it's certainly an adventure.

Finally, recent events in my life have been somewhat difficult. It's been a learning experience to say the least, although I'm slightly disappointed in myself and some of my reactions. I've found myself behaving in a juvenile fashion. Thinking about it, I've realized for myself that my parents were right when they said focusing on the negative things aren't going to help. This has pushed me one step closer to getting my tattoo. I've been thinking about getting the Greek word "agape," meaning unconditional love, on my wrist in cursive. I need the reminder that even if someone has hurt me or I'm not their biggest fan, I still need to show them love. In the words of my ENG 100 teacher from my freshman year of college, we need to "practice being nice" and eventually it'll stick. Contrary to popular belief, practice doesn't make perfect. It makes permanent.