Thursday, October 31, 2002

*... did you ever know that you're my hero? ...*
Yesterday, after a rather dull and long day, i dragged myself home. As I was walking up to the apt. complex, I was wishing, practically willing for there to be some sort of mail in my cold little mailbox. Much to my dismay, I opened the flap, and there was nai. Quite dejected, I ascended the stairs to floor number 3, and was greeted by not only a box rubber-banded to my doorknob (ingenious of the postman/woman, really), but also a HUGE bag of winter clothes. The "Donate to the Cold Californian Girl" campaign worked like a charm, apparently. My guardian angel Tiffany passed down some fabulous winter wear; I felt like I hit the jackpot! And the box turned out to be 3 tapes of this season's episodes of Friends, Scrubs, Will&Grace, etc from Miss Karin Cluasen, down there in Saitama, passing along the imports she gets.

These ladies made me feel loved, really for the first time since being here. (Not that I don't feel the love from you all Stateside, but on this side of the Pacific, there has been no love to speak of... till now!!)
2:05 PM

Wednesday, October 30, 2002

*... in my home country ...*
Since it didn't rain yesterday (hoooray!) I hauled bike over to the grocery store and took advantage of all the 97 yen I had. Apparently it was also cute-boy night too (bonus!) Now had I been stateside, I would have taken advantage of this opportunity, not in any way using a "pick-up line" per se, but in just being my usual goof and saying something along the lines of "... so... can I get YOU for 97 yen?". If only to spark conversation, really. However, the communication gap makes me just look like an idiot (there's a big difference between idiot and goof, you know) and by the time I got home I realized that I looked like a scary idiot, as my hair was standing straight up and was frizzed out more than a cat taken out of the dryer.

In general, when my hair is cooperating or I can stick it undrer a beanie, I winter out quite nicely. Long coats, scarves, and turtleneck sweaters seem to go with this figure of mine. When I got home, I re-winterized myself and set off for this supposed American/Mexican cuisine restaurant. I say supposed because I don't think a single thing I ate could be categorized as either Mexican or American. But it was mighty tasty all the same, and the bonus was that it was such a small place (all of one cook, the owner, and one waitress) that they kept coming over and trying to talk, and ended up giving me dessert and coffee for free. Not that I needed an espresso at 8 o'clock at night, but I couldn't refuse. That would just be rude!!

Speaking of rude, I have had the tremendous opportunity to yell at 3 people in the last 2 days. Lucky me. One was my supervisor (see story below), one was this stalker guy who is freaky and has been following me around the train station for months now (I got to yell at him in Japanese... whee!) and one is this weird guy who I have never actually met, but have heard stories about, and he keeps calling at odd hours (2:30 in the morning, the other night) calling himself "Doctor Louie" and asking for Annie (note, someone named AnneMarie used to live in my apartment...2 years ago.) I told him that I knew who he was, I had his phone number, and if he called one more time, I was going to the police.

I am gaijin, hear me roar.
9:34 AM

Tuesday, October 29, 2002

*... all rain and no sun makes britt a dull girl ...*
well, actually more like frustrated and upset. (Although I did have other factors contributing to that state.) But the weather was the basis of it all. On yesterday I showed up to school soaked to the core and freezing. Apparently the rain coat I have does not keep out the rain. Actually, I have yet to find a device short of a plastic bubble that could have kept me dry, since the wind was viciously sending all the rain sideways. There's really no defense to sideways rain. As I dripped into school, quite on the verge of tears because I was so wet and cold and not at all used to these wretched conditions, i was greeted by a chorus of laughter from the other teachers, and one smart ass who asked "Britt sensei, did you not know it was raining?"

I finally lost it.

For all the rude and snide and I'm-going-to-disguise-this-disparaging-remark-as-a-joke comments that I have gotten here, it finally all came to a head. I LAID INTO the person who made the comment, who, luckily (?) for me was my supervisor, and hence knew English quite well. I started yelling about how it was obvious I was upset and uncomfortable, and to make a joke out of my misery, (especially when they knew that it's not like I had the option to hop in my car and risk a few sprinkles on my precious head like the rest of them) was so incredibly inconsiderate. I also mentioned that it's not like I could prepare for the weather anyway, since I don't fit into any of the items they deem as waterproof. Then I started to tell him how unacceptable it was to tell me 25 minutes before classes started that I would need to prepare materials for and teach for the first 3 periods. I probably said some other stuff in there too, but you get the point.

So I sat through a miserable day, scowling, still damp and freezing cold (the heaters in the school all seemed to have broken) and I was then supposed to go to my first Japanese class afterward. I decided that there was no way I was going to sit through that as well, so I headed home, only to have my umbrella torn in half by the wind, fly apart and hit a car, where the driver got out and started yelling at me (yeah, like it was MY fault, yaro) only to have my hat blown away and into a rushing gutter, never to be seen again. So instead of going to Japanese class, and instead of going home, I headed to a liquor store and blew my tuition (for the class) on alcohol.

Hehehe, okay, before you get the wrong idea, let me explain some things. 1) i am not a big drinker, regardless of any nickname Amy may have for me. In fact, you can count the number of times I have been drunk on one finger, and really that was quite by accident. 2) I remember laughing at the stupid video they made us watch in student-loan-counseling sessions about the responsibility we have about directing tuition money to tuition, and not to keg parties or the mall. So what do I do? It seems I wait till I have already graduated from college to do it! 3) when all else is going down the tubes, when you can see your breath in your own apartment, when you are already wearing 3 layers of pants and socks, gloves, and 5 layers of shirts, you are running out of dry clothes to put on, and the others aren't drying anyway, your hot water is a sporadic entity, and you don't exactly have another warm body to do the trick, can YOU think of a better way to bring the feeling back into your digits and limbs? If you have any insight, please, I'd love to know.

So I bought 3 bottles of my favorite liquors (3 bottles because I couldn't decide which one best suited my mood... and if you can guess all three, I will send you one. Darius, you are exempt from this. Holly and Amy, you are too, b/c you would probably just ask D... in fact, anyone who knows me is exempt from this as well...) trudged home, and today has been a much better day. And not because I am drunk, but because it is NOT RAINING. I have decided that cold I can deal with, cold I can defend, but I DO NOT like wet. And just so you don't think i am the biggest complainer around, I had 3 completely unsolicited comments confirmed for me from people who would know: Kelly "it always rains in Ireland, but this is ridiculous!", Christian "Jersey gets cold, but damn this is chilly!" and Mr. Watanabe "I think winter has come about 2 months early this year." See, it's not only me (the wizard of magicland...)
2:39 PM

Sunday, October 27, 2002

*... a prisoner of weather ...*
These days I have to keep a close eye on the goings-ons outside, tenki-wise, since I have to pretty much plan my day as to how fast I can dash outside and get to wherever it is I need to go before I get blown into a gutter or soaked to the bone or maybe both. Last night I had planned to go to a cafe or to a American/Mexican restaurant (this I HAVE to see), both just opening down the street from me, but seeing as I had forgotten my umbrella and it started to drop some big time rain, I had to haul butt back home. At least it's exercise.

Getting home, i found that I had forgotten to lock my door. And earlier in the day when I tried to go out, I couldn't find my key in the first place, so I couldn't lock my door. Turns out that I had left it in my bike lock, so not only could someone get into my apt, but they could also make a fast get away on my bike. Okay, maybe not THAT fast. Either way, not smart, britto.

By the way, some more people watching on my part has revealed what I consider an abnormal amount of children who ride unicycles, and also a whole generation of women who are pigeon-toed. The only explanation I can garner is the ridiculous shoes they insist on wearing (HIGH stilettos with really super pointed toes) can only be balanced on if one turns her foot in at a 30-45 degree angle. Personally, I think that that counteracts the point of showing off your legs, etc when wearing shoes like that, as yeah, your leg may look hot, but also contorted and broken at the same time. Yeeha, that's sexy...(?)
11:52 AM