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This is officially my first entry using a combination of the old entry editor and the new beta testing page! I mentioned in the comments already that while we shouldn't fix what isn't broken, sometimes we are forced to adapt as the world changes around us. The site will have to adapt as the rest of the World Wide Web continues to change and evolve. What originally sold me on DreamWidth is that it replicates the classic LiveJournal environment as I experienced it during the early 2000s when I was in high school. But without the teenage angst (and oversharing)!
Even as I was living in the time period, we didn't collectively know the online experience as social media. Mainstream media was completely separate, and rarely mentioned the internet unless a viewer sent a question or comment by email. We didn't have a 24 hour news cycle, and the distribution of information was a lot slower. Things are faster and more convenient now, but I don't think things are necessarily better.
( My TED Talk about the current state of social media )
Last week, I saw a trash panda during one of my combini runs! It was funny because I thought it was a stray cat at first. But then I saw the black mask that they wear. We locked eyes for a second, and it dashed under a nearby car. Prior to this moment, I have never seen raccoons in real life. I didn't want to get too close to it because a bite or a scratch would mean that you would have to get a rabies shot ASAP.
I went to my local mall after work yesterday to get my glasses repaired (already), and there were literally thousands of people there with security up the wazoo because a j-pop group called the J SOUL BROTHERS were performing there. Simultaneously, there were also Black Friday sales going on. It was chaos! I was going to leave and come back later, but I was too much of a pansy to go back outside because I didn't dress for the weather. 
I hunkered down at a local café for a bit until the crowds tapered off.
They were very kind to readjust my frames for free, but I think part of my request got lost in translation. One of the arms got bent out of shape already (probably because I fell asleep on the train, oops), and needs a slight adjustment there. My glasses serve my well enough for the time being, I suppose.
I bought a new jacket on my way out of the mall so that I could be dressed for outside, and also have something a little nicer for work.
For the sake of taking a break from writing, housekeeping, and clarity, I will make a separate, and dedicated post to my trip to Mishima and Tokyo last week.
