hello! yoshi

Ok, so I have to be honest, and I’m sure most of you out there are like this, but I love to see what people search for. It’s a nosy thing, I know. I think what’s even more interesting is what people search for and end up on this site. So I dug around, and I’m thinking I’ll probably make this a monthly post of the “Top ten search terms I found interesting that found my site” kinda thing.

Search Terms for January:

1. chicken place outside gate iwakuni japan Wow. I’m surprised the number of people who searched for this place. They also searched for “California Chicken” which was the name of the restaurant. I’m not sure if it’s there anymore, but there are some serious memories of going there late at night and getting some really good tasty chicken.
2. yoshi means japanese Hmm. I’m not really sure what they were looking for, but the search seems out of place. Yes, Yoshi is a japanese word/name, and actually there are many other cultures that use the same “yoshi” name. But just thought this was interesting.
3. heath ledger passed away Of course, this one is a really big one. This was truly a sad day. Very very sad day.
4. alphabetizing numbers I laughed when i saw this one, mainly because of Fact 20 in my 100 facts post.
5. together we served When I posted about the Together We Served site, I didn’t really expect anyone to be arriving here via search engine for it. Hopefully they found what they were looking for.
6. dorama Do I talk about Japanese dorama that much? Hmm I guess I do. I keep getting people looking for dorama. I’m not sure which ones, but I know they’re looking for something.
7. silver jackets Tiggerprr would get a kick out of this one. So would my friend Karen. When I was a teenager, I used to wear this shiny-ass silver jacket. I almost wish Tiggerprr would find a picture already. I’ll have to ask Karen if she has one. Hilarious
8. toe socks facts I’m not sure how they found me. As far as I know I’ve never mentioned toe socks. Although I know Meesh loves them, and so does Jules. Actually I bet they got here because I mentioned in Fact 18 that I hate wet socks.
9. treadmill incline broken You know, everyone must have this problem with their treadmill. I talked about how our treadmill incline motor saga way back in June 2006, and people are still doing a search and finding my site. I’m just amazed.
10. the mist movie You know this search term caught my eye because holy crap, I haven’t seen this movie yet. After all the excitement I had to go see it, I just realized that I never saw it and don’t even remember when it was taken out of the theatre! Sheesh. I really need to work on my memory. Ugh.

So there you have it. What are some crazy searches you’ve done or heard of being done?

Ok, here’s a boring post where I talk about things I’ve added to the site recently. I know you’re cheering right now right?

You’ll notice I added a contact form to the site, this is for anyone who would like to get a hold of me, but for some reason do not have my email or forgot my email address. (or more likely, have not kept up with all my email address changes.)

You’ll also notice that I’ved added a new “Now Reading” widget on the sidebar that let’s you know what book I’m now reading, and any past books I’ve read and reviewed. It also shows you what books I’ve got stored up in my queue to read, which are a lot, but I only listed a few of them (for now).

I also started adding google ads. Although this might change. I’m just not sure yet. I’m also putting in Text Link Ads. I’m not sure my site is even popular enough to worry about it, but we’ll see in the upcoming months. I know a few people who are using it and if I got what they got, then my hosting would pay for itself. (which is a good thing folks)

Here’s the interactive portion. What plugins do you have installed? I think I might have too many of them, but I’m curious to see what everyone has installed. (again, I know.)

So, as of late, I’ve been watching A Haunting a bit way too much. I’ve always been fascinated by any kind of ghost story, but honestly, especially now that we’re looking for a new house, if we moved into a house that was haunted? We’d probably move out of there as soon as possible. I can understand the determination that some people might have. You know, the “I moved into this house, I want to make it mine” but honestly. Ghosts. Ghosts people. There doesn’t seem to be much of a defense plan here.

And a question I always had: do priests charge for exorcisms? I would love the idea the church would do everything for free, but you know, they have to eat too. And what about the danger involved? It’s entirely possible they could get injured.

Am I the only person who thinks of things like this?

When an immigrant goes to apply for US Citizenship (like myself), the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) administers a naturalization test. This test covers such things as current events (current president, governer, senator and so on) and basic government and civics.

I understand that they will be redesigning the test. This new test will apparently be in use after October 1, 2008. From the USCIS website: “The revised test, with an emphasis on the fundamental concepts of American democracy and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, will help encourage citizenship applicants to learn and identify with the basic values we all share as Americans.”

That’s cool because some of the questions on the current test are pretty elementary. Although I will have to admit there are probably quite a few people out there who wouldn’t know certain questions. Here’s some examples (and yes, I will supply the answers) from the current test:

Questions:

1. How many stars are there in our flag?
2. How many stripes are there in the flag?
3. How many branches are there in our government? And what are they?
4. How many senators are there in Congress?
5. Can you name all the senators in your state?
6. For how long do we elect each senator?
7. Can you name thirteen original states?
8. Who said, “give me liberty or give me death!”

Ok ok, that’s enough. They give you 100 example questions, from which they will take some of and ask you in your interview. You do a written and oral test, because they want to make sure you can read/write english and speak it well enough as well.

I’ll be going in next Monday to do this interview. They also say I should “dress appropriately” so I’m thinking jeans are out, but honestly, what’s appropriate? I went there for my fingerprinting in jeans and a t-shirt. *shrug*

Here are the answers:

1. 50 (for all the states)
2. 13 (for the original colonies)
3. Three. The Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary.
4. 100
5. This of course would depend on where you live. But for me, it’s Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray. (I have the hardest time remembering Patty Murray. I have no idea why.
6. 6 years
7. New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia
8. Patrick Henry

How many did you get right?

Ok, superbowl today. I just want to say I’m rooting for the Giants this year, just because I don’t particularly care for the Patriots. That’s the only reason. The Hawks didn’t make it this year, so I’m downplaying the SuperBowl. I’ll just be looking forward to seeing the commercials.

I’ve undertaken a great responsibility today and went ahead and joined Blog 365. I saw that Pandora did it, so I might as well join, being the lemming that I am. So you should see a blog post everyday. If not, then a moblog post at the very least!