yes, it's true! i am finally leaving the small school comforts of my branch (ikebukuro seibu guchi) and traveling about 100meters to the east to Ikebukuro Honko; one of the biggest and busiest schools in the tokyo area. i am also getting moved one notch higher on the food chain; i'll be going there as an assistant trainer. i'm not sure that this really means anythig at all. basically, i help make the schedule and give people papers to sign. but hey, it'll look decent on the resume and it'll give me a change of scenery which is also good.
so i've been making a big photo album to take to work (my own year book if you will) of all my students and of shots of me and my friends at work. it's a pretty funny album and i find that i have tons more stuff to put in it than my last album from the last school. i'm really going to miss some of them, they are fabulous students.
i am currently on day 8 of a 15 day stretch of working. yeah, it sucks. but i'm home early every nighth which makes it fairly decent. i hate working nights. if a student asks me a grammar question after about 4 in the afternoon, i tend to stare at them with my "duuuuuhhhhh . . . . i dunno" look on my face and have to ask them to ask me again in the morning.
this weekend is halloween and i'm having my annual (well, it's really only the second time i'm doing this) gumbo and smore-a-thon complete with scary movies and garlic bread. i'm thinking of doing pumpkin fritters as well (no oven so no pumkin pie, cake or cookies -- damn you no-oven Japan!) but we will have to see how ambitious i am.
mom and grandpa are in town and are supposed to come as well but we will have to see hoqw grandpa's mood is; he hasn't been very happy since he got back to tokyo and now he is vowing not to go back to the states which could be problematic. but we'll have to see what happens.
on another halloween note, my roommates and i will be wrapping towels around our heads and getting water guns to be the taliban. we realized that hollywood just recycles the same 3 middle eastern names: muhammed, sayid, and habieb. we don't care who's who. photos to follow . . .
10.26.2005
10.05.2005
Kyoto, Weddings, Etc
On my way back from a five day stretch in Kyoto visiting with my dad and seeing my uncle and the rest of the family. It’s been a while since the last update so let me fill you in. The big H (Helen) has left Japan and did a mini world trip before heading to honk kong where she transferred for her job. As happy as I am for her, I still miss her like crazy and am thinking of visiting over there perhaps for the holidays. So farewell to the big h and in her place we get the train! Leilani (as most of you probably know as the train) is here for a very short stint with nova before heading back to the US where they are keeping her job for her. We have completely different schedules so I actually don’t see her very much despite the fact that we live together. Oh well, I guess it’s not that important. Anyways, the welcome leilani/farewell big H party was held in tsukishima (the land of monja) and we got to go see the big H’s massive hotel room at the park hyatt in roppongi hills. Sidebar: roppongi hills is the infamous place where that kid died cuz he got his head stuck in the revolving door. It’s also where they are showing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Smell-O-Vision, which is one of the most exciting things I’ve ever heard of.
This past Saturday, I went to Kyoto cuz it was the anniversary of my uncle’s death, so the whole family gathered for a big party. My “normal wear” was acceptable so said on the phone so I showed up in shorts and a t-shirt. Of course it’s not ok (another family faux pax under my belt) and I have to change. The only problem is, Kyoto is still stinking hot as balls, which means I have to wear my warm weather clothes. Arrrrgh! So for the next five days I basically boil because I only packed warmish clothing. Yes, I checked the weather before I packed. Yes, it called for cooler temperatures. No, it didn’t say anything about it going to rain. Fuck. I actually had to get my dad to drive me to the uniqlo just to pick up a t-shirt. My one other t-shirt I wore got shitted on my bird during a morning walk. Asshole pigeons. Besides the clothes fuck up, it was all pretty good. Got to spend some time with the cousins and the crazy aunt and see the rest of the peeps that I basically only see once a year. My sort of uncle Aotani made ox tail stew one nite and we had hammo (a special Kyoto fish) for dinner the next nite. All in all, I ate pretty damn well in Kyoto. I sit on the shinkansen now eating a granola bar and drinking vending machine tea so I think I made out pretty well in the end.
What’s to come:
I can’t go home this year for Christmas which sucks but I am hoping to go elsewhere like to see the big h in honk kong or maybe see other peeps. I haven’t seen my self-proclaimed goddaughter mew mew (Duang’s kid) yet (duang was still preggers when I went to Thailand last year) so I am thinking of doing that too. We will see. The holidays are also a good time to pick up overtime which pays fairly well so that’s something to consider too. I gots to save up the dinero so I can have a kicking time in Jamaica in January. I am going to Montego Bay to see sabs get hitched so I am pretty damn excited about that. I am also considering a pit stop in California on the way back for a week or so to surprise my folks (so if any of you who read this speak to my parents, don’t mention anything about this – they have no clue). It’ll be nice to get some decent Mexican food in my belly as well as find some clothes that don’t cost me a kidney and actually fit my fat ass. That’ll be fun. It’ll be my late holiday. In June, I will be back in America, this time to the east coast (yes, back to north Carolina) to see my dear friend Katherine get married (jeez why is everyone getting married?!) so I am excited about that too. I guess this means I have to start dieting now!!!!! (I know I keep saying this) so I can look crash hot at the wedding (they’re great opportunities to pick up). I like how I’m all set to go to these weddings though I have yet to get an invitation.
Sidebar: I’m sorry but this fucking kid is SCREAMING his head off on the train and I am ready to lose it!!!!!!!!! God, get it under control for fuck sake! My folks would have kicked my ass if I behaved like that!
Ok, sorry about that. Anyways, on the wedding front, my friend Marino is also getting married later this month so that’s another wedding I gotta go to. That one I actually got invited to. Japanese weddings (well, the one I went to) tend to be really boring so I’m not exactly looking forward to it yet. Combine that with it being a Mormon wedding, which means no booze, no chocolate. Bummer. But rumor has it that it won’t live up to my expectations so that might be good. I’m gonna try to have fun.
This past Saturday, I went to Kyoto cuz it was the anniversary of my uncle’s death, so the whole family gathered for a big party. My “normal wear” was acceptable so said on the phone so I showed up in shorts and a t-shirt. Of course it’s not ok (another family faux pax under my belt) and I have to change. The only problem is, Kyoto is still stinking hot as balls, which means I have to wear my warm weather clothes. Arrrrgh! So for the next five days I basically boil because I only packed warmish clothing. Yes, I checked the weather before I packed. Yes, it called for cooler temperatures. No, it didn’t say anything about it going to rain. Fuck. I actually had to get my dad to drive me to the uniqlo just to pick up a t-shirt. My one other t-shirt I wore got shitted on my bird during a morning walk. Asshole pigeons. Besides the clothes fuck up, it was all pretty good. Got to spend some time with the cousins and the crazy aunt and see the rest of the peeps that I basically only see once a year. My sort of uncle Aotani made ox tail stew one nite and we had hammo (a special Kyoto fish) for dinner the next nite. All in all, I ate pretty damn well in Kyoto. I sit on the shinkansen now eating a granola bar and drinking vending machine tea so I think I made out pretty well in the end.
What’s to come:
I can’t go home this year for Christmas which sucks but I am hoping to go elsewhere like to see the big h in honk kong or maybe see other peeps. I haven’t seen my self-proclaimed goddaughter mew mew (Duang’s kid) yet (duang was still preggers when I went to Thailand last year) so I am thinking of doing that too. We will see. The holidays are also a good time to pick up overtime which pays fairly well so that’s something to consider too. I gots to save up the dinero so I can have a kicking time in Jamaica in January. I am going to Montego Bay to see sabs get hitched so I am pretty damn excited about that. I am also considering a pit stop in California on the way back for a week or so to surprise my folks (so if any of you who read this speak to my parents, don’t mention anything about this – they have no clue). It’ll be nice to get some decent Mexican food in my belly as well as find some clothes that don’t cost me a kidney and actually fit my fat ass. That’ll be fun. It’ll be my late holiday. In June, I will be back in America, this time to the east coast (yes, back to north Carolina) to see my dear friend Katherine get married (jeez why is everyone getting married?!) so I am excited about that too. I guess this means I have to start dieting now!!!!! (I know I keep saying this) so I can look crash hot at the wedding (they’re great opportunities to pick up). I like how I’m all set to go to these weddings though I have yet to get an invitation.
Sidebar: I’m sorry but this fucking kid is SCREAMING his head off on the train and I am ready to lose it!!!!!!!!! God, get it under control for fuck sake! My folks would have kicked my ass if I behaved like that!
Ok, sorry about that. Anyways, on the wedding front, my friend Marino is also getting married later this month so that’s another wedding I gotta go to. That one I actually got invited to. Japanese weddings (well, the one I went to) tend to be really boring so I’m not exactly looking forward to it yet. Combine that with it being a Mormon wedding, which means no booze, no chocolate. Bummer. But rumor has it that it won’t live up to my expectations so that might be good. I’m gonna try to have fun.
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