Friday, October 11, 2002

*... Non talking sense ...*

Today is a beautiful fall day, so much to say that it is (1) autumn, and (2) a beautiful day. I am not necessarily joyous that the 2 are intertwined, since it is kinda chilly. The weather lady said that today would be a good day for laundry, and so I have spent the morning doing laundry. I have simulataneously spent that time making up dialogues in my head between the 2 cats that live in the parking lot below me. Which makes me wonder 2 things: a) if the cats live in a parking lot that is off an alley, are they alley cats or lot cats, or maybe lottey cats? (lot + alley) and b) am I going insane?

Maybe all of the above.

I have come to trust the weather lady quite a bit. Afterall, I am banking my laundry on her forecast. She also said that this winter is supposed to be warmer than normal (whee!!) because of El Nino, believe it or not. However, my toes are at the present, QUITE cold, and so commences my next six months of complaining about the weather. Just thought I'd warn ya.
11:44 AM

Thursday, October 10, 2002

*... "it's gettin' cold in here, so put on all your clothes" ...*
brr. bRr.

BRRRRRRR

It was 15 degrees this morning on my ride to school (about 59 for those of you who don't want to do the math) and I don't like it one bit. I am a delicate flower meant to be lounging pool-side with an umbrella'd drink. Not tatami-side with gloves on. On the bright side, I was forced to invest in some slippers for my house to protect my little piddies, so I bought these huge green fuzzy claws. They have yellow curved nails on them, and I definitely get the looks walking out of my apartment.

Presents, presents galore! Yesterday one of the teachers here brought me homemade sponge cake (word must have gotten out about my affinity for cakes) and so today I brought in tortillas and guacamole. Never have I seen a more trepidatious bunch when it comes to sampling a new food. But they seemed to enjoy it after not seeing the first person who tried it drop over dead from poisoning. Then, since i brought that in, 2 other teachers brought me little mochi and pumpkin cakes. Man, this cycle could go on forever. Not that I am complaining ; )

And, if that wasn't enough great news, they are changing my hours at school! Whee! I am supposed to do 35 hours a week, so normally I do 8-4 Mon-Friday. But now I will be doing 8-5 Mon-Thurs and 8-11 on Fridays. I am way looking forward to that. Kelly is too, since she won't have to listen to me lament about how she and a bunch of other ALTs get out early on Fridays and the possibilities that come with that, when I am still slaving away at school. And, even better, I only have to work 2 and a half days next week. In fact, I almost have a 5 day weekend: tomorrow (fri) I have a meeting at the city office 1:30-4:30, so I don't have to go to school, then Sat off, Sunday I have to sing in the music festival (blah), Monday's a public holiday (Health and Sports Day?!) and then Tuesday school is closed since we all had to work on Sunday. That leaves me working Wed, Thur, and 3 hours on Fri. YAY!! However, I must be like the humble, demure Japanese, and be fairly bummed that I will not be able to work.

haha, yeah, right.
2:52 PM

Tuesday, October 08, 2002

*... HapHapHappy day! ...*
Wow! What an awesome day! Started off with me hearing from both JP and my sister last night. Then I went to school (not in the rain!), taught 3 classes, got off at 1pm and was able to get over to the post office to get a package from the fabulous Mr. Wadia. I was literally bouncing around the post office. Everyone was looking at the little hopping gaijin with the box. I tore home on my, well, 1 speed, and was absolutely delighted to find my favorite-ist things of noodles and soup AND Hershey Kisses (half of the bag of which I have eaten already, of course naming each one differently as if all of you, my dear friends, were each giving me a kiss.... awww...) Then I went to the ever-popular-in-my-book 97 yen groceries, and stocked up on some big time veggies, and now I am off to downtown Furumachi/Bandai area to do some warm clothes shopping. And despite the fact that it is raining so hard that even the locals are looking out wide-eyed, I am going to skip my way thru all the underground malls and over ground malls and look for gifts for a few soon-to-be-birthdays and, if I am lucky, an ooki onna ('big girl'... sad, huh?)section so maybe I can find some pants that fit...

And you all thought I was having a bad time. Shame on you.
4:45 PM

Monday, October 07, 2002

*... umm, I don't think so ...*
WARNING: The following entry is not intended for children, future travelers of JET, recent graduates, college freshmen, the righteous, pregnant women, or a combination of any of the above...

NAAAA - GAAAA - NOOOO is where I went this weekend. And what can I say about it other than the best time was spent in the 3 - 3 1/2 hour car ride there. The rest was bullshit. Sorry, but it was. And the fact that I spent a good $200 on this weekend makes me think that the money could have been better spent elsewhere (like on my phone bill... which wouldn't even cover it. Sad.) And it's not about the money. It's about the waste. As Kelly pointed out, I could have actually spent the time and money doing something I enjoyed doing instead of being trapped in the mountains with a bunch of people I don't like.

Let me back up a little.

A few weeks ago we got an email touting a soccer tournament for JETs to be held in Nagano. Players and supporters alike to rally in the mountains and have some fun. It was 8000 yen for the weekend, which included dinner and 1 night hotel, breakfast, and lunch on Sunday. Transportation, you were on your own. So Kelly and I decided why not? sounds fun, and off we went. We hitched a ride with this way-laid back guy named James, and the three of us were going crazy the whole way there, including Kelly accusing James of farting so bad that he had to pull over so she could hang her head out the window to throw up (I back up James in the sense that it wasn't him, it was just where we were, but Kelly won't buy it), and a foiled plan to buy or later steal a giant stuffed dog from a roadside ramen place that later made us all sick (could have been James...) and all I had was OJ... (I was supposed to distract the waitress with my stunning Japanese skills, Kelly would grab the dog, and James would be the getaway driver...)

Anyway, after all the antics and thru the beautiful scenery (we were literally perched on the top of a mountain) and me having to ask someone for directions, we finally reached our hotel, which was the size of my parents house, abouts. We wondered how 500 people were supposed to fit in this hotel, till we got our rooming... yeah, there were a mere 12 people in the room. One guy ended up sleeping in the futon closet. All in all the place was GHETTO, and we figured they should be paying us for staying there. We got there so late that we missed all but 2 minutes of the games that day, so we ended up going back to the hotel and waiting around for dinner. (don't even get me started on THAT fiasco)

Environment was bearable, overall. Population, however, was NOT. And this is why the weekend was so bad. Suddenly being surrounded by 500 gaijin was a creepy place to be. And just b/c we were all here on the same program does not a) mean I am going to be your best friend or b) mean I am going to give you a key to my place to crash when you come thru town or c) mean that I am going to be as shallow and froofy as at least 75% of the people there. Don't get me wrong, I met a couple of cool people. Really, 1 or 2. But I am seriously over the "let's get hammered and hook up with everyone around since we are all gaijin together" attitude. Never really had that attitude to begin with. Maybe b/c that wasn't my scene in college, and many people there had just graduated and were hanging on to the feeling. It's like welcome week, freshmen year of college. Everyone is being super nice and loving everyone else b/c you're all suddenly in the same situation. Everyone wants the attention. But deep down, cliques are formed, gossip is thrown like rice at a wedding, and people base their good time on how far they can stumble before they fall down drunk. I am sorry, but rolling up to me the next day, laughing about the guy you landed last night b/c you were soooo drunk, even tho the day before you were going off about how much you loved and missed your boyfriend, well, that's just not cool. And frankly, I didn't come to Japan to get drunk and make a fool of myself. Could have done that in Pacific Beach QUITE easily. And I didn't come here to hang out with other foreigners. I know that sounds harsh, but truth is, I wouldn't want to be around these fools regardless of geography. And being now boxed in with them in a tiny hotel was just not my idea of a good time. If I wanted to be gossiped about or slobbered on or placated, I would have stayed at Margarita Rocks.

3 hospital visits and 500 plates of curry later, we were on our way home, with 2 new passengers in the car. And Kelly and James and I couldn't help but be disappointed. We had gone to have a good time, but instead found ourselves in such a fierce environment (competion for soccer and attention), we couldn't wait to get home. It made us so edgey that we started freaking out in a train station in Maki when some little kid poked me in the arm and ran away. PS- Kelly is seriously funny when she starts going off in Irish.
11:45 AM