Can't I Just Show Youtube Clips?

One of the assignments for my morning class is that every day a different person does "show and tell" and explains something of interest to their classmates. Someone has brought in their cherished stuffed animal, another his kendo equipment, photographs from the Beijing Olympics, etc etc. As it turned out, I was going to go last and I knew from the beginning that I was going to have trouble thinking of something to bring with me. Despite the fact I must have at the very least met the 100 pound limit on luggage on my flight over to Japan, I definitely did not bring many trinkets or mementos. I figured there was no point because I'd only be away for a short amount of time and they'd take up space in my suitcases that I needed for another pair of shoes or bag of make-up (stop judging me). As it is, I have nothing save for my old softball glove that I might be able to bring in, and the story behind that glove isn't all that interesting. It's not like I play any more. This assignment makes me feel painfully boring, especially since it's about as easy as they come.

At first people brought in tangible items with them, but a couple of people later relied on photographs they uploaded to the classroom computer. I thought that might be my saving grace, but really all the pictures I have on my hard drive are of me and my friends hanging out in bars. It might be hysterical to me to think about the night that we did jager bombs at the College Inn, floated through Capitol Hill getting condoms from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, playing air hockey at The Pony, and finally singing the night away at The Crescent (man that was a good night), but a) I don't think that's what my sensei is looking for and b) just no. I'm pretty much at a loss right now.

So here are some potentials I thought of, a couple more serious than the others:

Idea #1
Originally I had thought about presenting my dog, but as it turns out we're doing speeches tomorrow in our afternoon class about our pets. As tempting as it is to kill two birds with one stone, I think it's best not to tempt fate because I'm sure the sensei's talk to each other. It'd be a quick way to get on 2 people's shit lists, and I like both senseis.
Verdict
No. I'm not one to repeat myself anyway.

Idea #2
I mentioned last week in a speech about my host parents that they had paid for a set of 成人式 (seijinshiki) photos. For those who don't know, 20 is the rite of passage into adulthood in Japan and many young people get their photos taken in festive kimonos to celebrate the milestone. I was already 21 at the time, but it didn't really matter. It was a cool experience, as they did my hair and make-up and then a woman helped to dress me in the kimono and obi. I also wandered around without my glasses on for the photo shoot, which was a disaster since I already have little in the way of depth perception and I underestimated the size of that obi. Needless to say, I bumped into more than a couple of things and people. There was a book put together of the best shots, but that's back at home in New York.
Verdict
Very likely, though I am still uncomfortable with the idea of showing pictures of myself on a giant computer screen to the class. I'm vain, but I like to be a little bit more subtle about it.

Idea #3
My host mom made those two little owls in the front for my birthday and sent them over to Seattle back in May. I brought them with me because they're pretty frickin' cute and it also means something to me when someone makes a gift for me by hand.
Verdict
I should've presented on these, but I was lazy and didn't ask my host mom what the technique was that she used in making these. I kept thinking about doing it, but put it off and put it off... now it's too late. Bad planning on my part.

Idea #4

I didn't bring my Spaced autographed DVD box with me (one of my prized possessions), but I do have a photo my friend Tina took while we waited in line to meet Simon, Jessica and Edgar. I about blew my fangirl head off that day. Though a very cool experience, I'm not sure how much more there would be to say than I lied to my office and said I had a doctor's appointment that afternoon, drove as fast as I could to the train station to head down in Manhattan and make my way over to Union Square, and then stood in line for 2 hours for pretty much 10 seconds up at the front to get autographs. And it would probably be just too geeky of me to say that I talked to Simon for a split second about The X-Files, got him to high five me, then high-fived Jessica and complimented her on her hair, and then wanted to get down at Edgar's feet because he's a geektastic genius.

I could also do a line-by-line reenactment of the war of words/Tekken battle scene from Series 1 Episode 7. It seems only appropriate right now. I AM NOT AVOIDING WORK.

Verdict

Okay, well the above would probably fill a 3 minute presentation, but I don't think "idiot fangirl" is quite what my sensei is looking for in this assignment.

Idea #5

And then there was the time that I met Bryan Ferry. He was on a promotional blitz for his 2007 album Dylanesque, and I am going to smack myself if he does the same thing for his upcoming Olympia and he's in Manhattan again. It's already painful enough for me that a somewhat-re-formed Roxy Music is cruising around Europe (they'll never get Brian Eno to head out with them again. I still resent him for producing that last Coldplay album, but I'll eventually get over it). Anyway, this is another instance where I lied to the office, I waited in line for hours, got to stand in front of the man himself for about 3 seconds wherein I told him I love his music and that he had been awesome on Letterman the night before. And let's not forget that despite the fact BF was 61 at the time of this picture, he's still ridiculously handsome and the blueness of his eyes could laser through a lead door. I mean, just look at him in his prime:

Fierce bitch is fierce. That and I love his awkward dancing and bizarre facial contortions.
Verdict
I think I just wanted an excuse to think about Bryan Ferry for a second. Presenting this would just make me look like a creepy stalker or something.

Ugh, I had intended this post to be a bit more out there, but I'm running out of time. I can only procrastinate so far. What really sucks is that I'm just going to have to do this again in probably a week and I'm going to be even more short on ideas.