Rare for Japan

Movies, games and eating at various restaurants; I don’t remember much more about last week than that. Things are still very slow because there are no classes for another week or so, but Ann and I are having a lot of fun. Since I taught her how Sudoku works, she’s been playing with those puzzles a lot, like while I type this.

On Friday we drove up to Matsumoto to catch up with Neal for the first time in weeks. While we didn’t talk much about our upcoming cross-Canada trip, we had fun with Rich, Thi, Phil and Theresa. Matsumoto is a busy place so it took a bit to find a place to eat at. I just love the atmosphere at night of people walking around on streets built mostly for pedestrians, and are bustling.

I still remember Ann’s first day here, when she asked me “where is all the plastic?” as she looked around the street. You’re not in Thailand anymore; it’s much cleaner and safer here. Theresa had a story for us though; last weekend someone broke into her car and stole her wallet. To understate how shocked we were, her police report was the 44^th crime of the year for that prefecture (province/state).

Catching up with people was lots of fun, and the food and drinks were good. We stayed at Neal’s and went to the famous Nagano temple “Zenkoji” on Saturday with him. It was vastly different from Buddha temples in Thailand naturally, so I think it was a good experience for Ann.

There was a lot to teach; like how you wash your hands first, use the incense smoke on trouble body parts, throw money in the trough and so on. There were other moneymaking things there like a dark hallway of enlightenment or something; you search for a key in darkness, a metaphor on life maybe. We weren’t too interested.

We walked a good long time looking for “something spicy” for lunch. After half an hour or more we gave up on Japan and went to McDonalds; not one of our prouder moments but we were tired and hungry already. After eating we met up with Ashley and her friend Brandon, who was new to Japan.

Together we went to ‘Round One’, the mythical game place that has eluded me for over 2 years. It was 6 stories of awesome. The first 2 floors were pictures machines and various other things, while 4-5/6 (high roof) was $17 for 3 hours. Arcades were just a small part of what you could do there: they had archery, basketball, golf, gun ranges, roller skating, karaoke, tennis, baseball and many other offers to name a few. Of the crazier stuff, they had a curling rink and fishing pond. Oh ya and I rode a mechanical bull for the first time.

We went from machine to machine, place to place like we had A.D.D. Of course, 3 hours was just not enough, but enough so we felt satisfied. There’s so much to talk about because as you can imagine how scattered and diverse it was, that I’ll just have to post some pictures and just say it was really, really fun.

It was late by the time we were done, so we had supper quickly, drove Neal home, then a couple more hours until we were home; around 1 in the morning. We slept in Sunday but later went out for Nepalese food with Rich and Thi. There we had some food that was a little spicy atleast, but wasn’t remarkable, atleast not at those prices. You take the good with the bad on new experiences, the important thing is to try for yourself I believe.

While the theme is “rare”, on the way there we were behind a ridiculously crazy driver, with large and dangerous swerving. I honked my horn at him as he almost killed an old lady earlier, so he slammed on his brakes, jumped out and started screaming at me. I calmly locked my doors and avoided eye contact. After he was done screaming at me in Japanese, he smacked my mirror and went back to his vehicle.

I was clearly rattled by this, but relaxed after a while. Ann told me it happens a lot of Thailand, and after the yelling someone kicks the other person and it’s over. She’s pretty cute when she tells those stories so it helped. Mad world eh?

Today is largely another day off and I plan on making something big/fun for supper, and not really in the mood for writing a blog, but it looks like I threw together something slightly sufficient. It's always a good feeling to finish this, post it, and put it out of my mind for the rest of the week.

“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent The Universe” –Carl Sagan

tnoy

Everything is New Again

When I go to bed at night I ask myself: “What was the best part of the day?” Of course it’s silly to try and rank those things, but it leaves you to ponder happy thoughts and be thankful before drifting off. There have been many happy things to think of this week.

Ann arrived around 3 on Tuesday after I had lunch at my favourite standing sushi restaurant in Shinjuku. It was a long, somewhat expensive trip to pick her up and quickly go back to my place because I had to work the next day, but she was tired from the traveling (the plane left at 5 in the morning) so it worked out; in total I was on the bus around 7 hours and the train for over 3.

It took her over an hour to get out of the place after her plane landed, just enough time to get me worried. I guess that movie “Taken” still has me a bit paranoid. Most times losing your cool is a choice I think, and is never productive. Panic is contagious, why spread it around. Turns out it took so long because of the language barrier and filling in paper work with questions she didn’t understand, like ‘do you have any weapons’. (Does anyone ever say ‘yes’ to that?)

By the time we got back into Shinjuku, it was almost 6 already. I had ideas for things to do in Tokyo, but she was tired and we knew we’d be back soon anyways for proper adventures. I changed our bus tickets and we had an hour to kill, so we got some supper. There were many offerings, but she chose an Udon (big noodle) shop that had a clever speaker outside the door so you could hear the kitchen noises from the street.

It was really good, but the cool treat came after when I remembered a vending machine nearby has Dr. Pepper in it (it’s rare in Japan, which is why I remembered its location). I think that was her first time seeing a vending machine, as I wrote before Thailand doesn’t really have them because maybe they’d be robbed often; I’m not sure. Regardless these machines are pretty cool, with hot and cold drinks inside.

She fought me away from the machine so she could trying buying from it herself, picked a hot coffee, loved it, and I could tell this would help make her day in Japan. For a bit she was sure to point out machines that she saw, and I reminded her a number of times that you can find those machines on literally every block in Japan; it’s ridiculous. Wikipedia tells me there is 1 machine for every 23 people in Japan (almost 5.6 million).

We got back to my place after 10, which gave little time to give a tour of my Japanese house so she could survive while I was at work the next day. I showed how the toilet works, my water heater for coffee, various heaters, the shower and so on. She brought some comfort food from Thailand, so while I still needed to go shopping she wouldn’t starve.

The next two days, Wednesday and Thursday at school were pretty good. It was my last class with my first year students, so we played that lovely game ‘99’ the whole time. I seemed to find an easier/simpler way to explain it, so they understood a lot faster and had a great time. When I went home Ann was always sleeping, but I guess she went on walks all over town for hours both days, which I find rather brave considering she had no map, no way to talk to people, and forgot her passport at home both times (I stressed she needs it if the police ever stop her)

After I got home Wednesday she had already eaten Thai noodles, so I put some rice in the cooker, showing how that worked too, and that I put a bullion cube in to flavour the rice. Richard called though, and offered to drive us for sushi. Thus we went to my favourite restaurant with the sushi train and conveyer belts: Kappa (monster) Sushi.

Ann ate 4 plates while I ate 14, but she loved it, even the weird fish eggs sushi. Apparently she doesn’t like Wasabi though, because she ate a bunch of it one time not knowing what it was, and burnt her mouth so bad she was crying. It went something like that anyways; her stories are crazy and hard to understand sometimes.

We went to my place after so Rich could use my computer, and I finally popped in the Christmas DVD I got. It was great to watch, and a bit sad at the same time that I missed 3 Christmases already. It played one after another and the only complaint I have was the best part of 2008’s Christmas was edited out; when John was screaming bloody murder at his Japanese porn DVD when he found out it was censored. John is an awesome guy; Rich said, “I’d really like to meet that dude.” If only I could convince him better to get out of his house and travel more maybe.

It was eerie seeing the family as the years progressed like that. Some people gained weight, some people lost weight, some people grew long hair, some people lost it, and then there were people in there that I didn’t know at all; new boyfriends, girlfriends, kids, and a husband (Jackie’s). For things that changed, there were things that didn’t of course.

John always said “Ni Hao” (Hello in Mandarin) and “Ichi-Ni-San” (1,2,3 in Japanese.) Uncle Francis always did the ‘Tony Wave.’ The girls always gave John a hard time for being his goofy self. Mom always had an amazing roast chicken or turkey that was huge. I was glad to see most of the Schoenroth and Untereiner families after so long, I’m happy everyone is doing well.

The next morning we used the rice we didn’t eat to make Onigiri (Rice Balls wrapped in seaweed). I got a used car later to use until I leave in July/August, and we met up with Rich and Molly at the Brazilian restaurant. Rich gave me his spare road map and some tips on going north for some skiing. It was a tough decision because Dougal was having a potluck party I wanted to attend, but it snowed that night, Friday wouldn’t be busy, and it was going to be a nice day. The ski season was rapidly ending, so I felt a bit under the gun there.

We left really early, drove for 2 hours and Ann saw snow for the first time. We rented gear and got lift passes at a discount because the season was almost over. We took the 2km gondola to the top, and I went to a patch of fresh snow and ate some. Ann thought I was crazy, but as long as the snow is fresh why not. She tried some too and liked it; her first time holding snow.

We spent a good while at the top trying to get over the basics of slowing down, stopping and some turning. After that, we took 3 hours getting down that hill the first time, but her progress was amazing I think. One thing I seem to do a lot is stress how easy something is. Once you start telling yourself how hard it is or impossible, then it becomes so. Take it slow and easy then it won’t be so bad. Divide and conquer one step at a time.

We stopped for lunch where I got talking with the waiter for a bit. As Rich taught me, being friendly to the staff in Japan and talking often has many perks; he gave us some fresh sliced apple for desert. Ann had Ramen here for the first time and impressions were good again.

We went up to the top again and tried another path down the back of the mountain. It wasn’t marked very good at all and although the beginning of the one path was super easy, it quickly became difficult when it was too late to go back. Ann ended up walking over the most difficult parts. We got back up to the top and started our way back to the car. It took 3 hours that morning, we were tired, and the hot day had a lot of the snow turning to slushy ice. (I skied half the time with my coat open and nothing on my head)

It was a slow process, and at about half ways she started walking down again carrying her skis. There was about 1 km left, and I bugged her a bit. She put her skis on again, and then had a nasty fall, jamming her knee on a mount of ice. The rescue team ended up wrapping her in a cocoon and taking her down the rest of the hill. I felt horrible for pushing her when the conditions were obviously terrible.

I rushed down the hill to meet the rescue people with her, and got horrible windburn on my face that is still peeling. The slush/ice I was skiing on burnt my legs something fierce. We were going to stay the night at the area and join other teachers for a bonfire and festivities Saturday, but Ann wanted to go home and I don’t blame her. On the way though she wanted more sushi so we stopped by for supper there.

The injury grounded us for most of the weekend, as she could hardly walk around the house. Today it’s a lot better, but it was a slow recovery. We played some video games together, but later she just wanted to watch me play. I felt like I should be entertaining her better, but she seemed to really enjoy it, helping me out and making her own sound effects. She thought she was watching a movie, minus the part where I died all the time.

We also watched some movies, apparently she’s never seen Star Wars and before long we watched the original 3 and loved them. I taught her how to cook some easy dishes, and we watched South Park while we ate them.

Monday was a holiday so I didn’t update then. Instead we made it to my local planetarium for a show. This time their show after the stars was about bugs, and their names used as Greek Gods and/or constellations like Atlas and Hercules. After we went shopping for much needed supplies, and I went a little crazy thinking of all the things we could cook together like Nabe, Pizza, Lemon Chicken, Cheese Cake and more.

We ended up just making Pizza and Marshmallow Cheese cake that night, cooking while watching “Planet Earth” on blu-ray. We made separate ones, and it was her first time making a pizza that ended up resembling a huge sandwich. Because she stuck so many veggies in it, when it was done there was quite a bit of water. So much so, she spent the first 5 minutes eating her pizza like a soup with a spoon.

Needless to say, we’re having a lot of fun.

"It's not what you do once in a while; it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference." -Jenny Craig

tnoy

Beauty in Simplicity

I read my friend’s blog the other day, which is rare for me. There wasn’t a lot written, but what was there I found profound. Just because I have nothing to say, doesn’t mean that I should say that. I just hope I’m not too redundant. I’ve always worked from examples and figured things out that way, but my ‘blog’ thing is amateur at best: me recording my activities, and perceptions of the world therein. If I can entertain others in the process then good on me I guess.

That said, I’ve noticed I don’t talk too much about Japan and its culture like I used to. Tomorrow Ann comes to visit me and will take an airplane for the first time. I guess through her eyes I can relate and reminisce to this beautiful, foreign place again. It’s hard to believe in about 4 months I’ll be leaving it all behind after almost 3 years.

Now that most of the Winter’s hardships are behind me, logic replaces the “fight or flight” of my frozen house and it’s getting harder to face the reality that this will all be behind me soon. I want to type I’m a bit scared, but at the same time I’m excited for the new adventures that await me.

As for the week’s occurrences: I think it was Wednesday was supper at Brett’s and Kaoru’s place, although I think they rented out the apartment for the party from Kaoru’s work, “Kanten papa” (easy dad). They sell Jellies and other treats, basically make-it-yourself goodies. We all made our own mini pizzas, which were one of the best ideas I’ve had a party in a long time, then we all ate pieces of the different pizzas people made. Some turned out quite crazy, but it’s the experience right? It always tastes better if you helped make it (usually).

Brett had some new hot sauce, and when we weren’t catching up (it has been so long since we got together) he was boasting how this hot sauce was like water to me. It looked watery so I was hesitant to put it on anything and have it make a mess, but when I did try it later, it was brilliant.

It’s called “Louisiana Hot Sauce” or something, and Brett gave me the whole bottle. I recognized it right away as the sauce used on my beloved chicken wings back home: hot and buffalo (minus the ranch obviously). I found out later that Brett was right in fact, when I later took some swigs of the hot sauce directly. When Kaoru asked me how it was, I hesitated and replied, “It’s very mild.”

But maybe therein lies the brilliance. As I’ve said before, too often hot sauce is used to cover up the taste of anything you’re putting it on. Because this was mild you got a bit of kick and flavour, but you can still taste the original food. I used it a fair amount the last couple days, in my Nabe yesterday (hot pot) and on some chicken today.

I tutored for the first time since December on Thursday, and she forgot that I was coming over. She insisted I stay, and I taught while she was entertaining friends and their children at the same time. We all had a wonderful supper together and interesting talks. I don’t get many chances to mingle with little children, but they’re very cute in Japan.

On Friday I went out with 4 others for Katsu-don. “Katsu” means “cutlets” perhaps (and don = rice bowl), but I noticed a couple months back that they are breaded pork chops and I hadn’t noticed for years up until that point, other than having a craving for pork chops.

A number of us threw around an email for most of the week with ideas varying from Ice Skating in Okaya, Onsen (hot spring) in Komagane, gun range in Tatsuno, Planetarium in Ina, curling in Nagano and so on. Eventually it settled on “Tony’s place, video games.” I was ok with that, but I rearranged my room, not knowing how many people were coming.

I much prefer this new layout without that huge table in here. I hadn’t taken pictures to post this week, so now I’m showing what my house looks like; I don’t do that much. It’s very Japanese, with the sliding doors behind the TV/Monitor being all closet space (with my oven) and the other sliding doors leads into the hallway.

The mini table in the middle with my laptop is a “kotatsu” or a “heated table.” You plug it in and it keeps your legs toasty warm ^_^ In my room, I have “Hello Kitty” bed sheets, and a disco ball. In the winter, the room is a meat locker unfortunately, if you’ve been reading for a while maybe you’ve heard me complaining about the cold. All floors are Tatami mats, except for hardwood in the kitchen. It's not often I write my blog at home, or re-arrange my stuff. I hope you like how my house looks anyways. As a side note I'm writing this up listening to the album "Ocean Eyes" by Owl City. It's amazing if you need some new and great music to relax with.

So anyways, Saturday, Michelle came out earliest to start playing games, and I made the mistake of drinking that ‘sho-chu’ (A type of Japanese alcohol, different from ‘sake’) Ike talked me into buying that made me sick during the Mardi Gras party a while back. What I do remember of the night was really fun with friends I haven’t seen in a while, playing Mario again and talking. I never blackout, so it’s embarrassing to think I might have. Sunday was a slow, slow day; we’ll leave it at that.

Today in comparison is much better. I ran some errands like updating my license, buying bus tickets for tomorrow, and tonight I’ll have a leaving party; I don’t think I’ll be drinking. 3 of our 9 regular teachers got transferred, so we’ll send them off with an “enkai” or “work party”. You have to love Japan’s style.

Ah yes, and I got my Christmas presents in the mail on Thursday. Thank you everyone! ^_^ I hope to watch the Christmas DVD with Ann later this week.

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." -Mother Teresa

tnoy

Conferences and Food for Thought

I spent a lazy Monday morning relaxing. My teacher asked me about a class later, and I realized I had 4 classes for the rest of the day, so it was a busy time; it’s a shame I couldn’t post this on my regular Monday.

Well last week’s conference/birthday was really nice. I was surprised just how good it was actually. They had intelligent and down to earth people giving speeches. It was just too bad that when the “questions” came up, it tarnished the experience a bit. They weren’t really questions as much as people bringing up talking points, politics and getting face time, while wasting everyone else’s time.

You know what I mean if you’ve ever seen politics on the news. It was a bit disturbing, but maybe these people don’t know how to ask a proper question? I’ll try not to let it bug me too much, but everyone there had degrees, and they’re at an age that can’t be passed off as “young and stupid”. I could tell this troubled the speakers too. Atleast it wasn’t the majority of people.

That aside, I really enjoyed those two days. I skipped the third day because I wanted to join my students’ graduation. Before heading home on Tuesday though, I finally met up with my Tokyo friend Reiko. We have chatted and sent emails for well over a year, and now we finally met up for the first time. I really enjoyed it, as I consider her a good friend.

I think we tried to go for Italian food, but when we found it closed she suggested fast food. I didn’t care where as long as there was beer; as while the meeting was good, it was pretty intensive. We went to the outback steak house, which I wouldn’t consider fast food, and I had some baby back ribs for the first time in years. It was so tender.

Reiko, or "Kiska the Russian Spy" as she likes to be known as, is changing jobs soon, so she too will go on some vacation adventures. My Hong Kong trip fell through, so I’ll live vicariously through her vacation. I’m mostly excited for next Tuesday when Ann arrives, so I haven’t made any plans like I did last year; I believe for that spring break I visited Canada. I’ll have lots of time for that this summer, hopefully with Neal too.

I didn’t get home until late, sometime after midnight. Regardless the graduation was good, as was the following party. It was weird though, because we got lunch at noon, and the party started at 2. I wasn’t too hungry at that time yet, but the food was still amazing.

I had some classes Thursday, then Friday I was in Nagano city for another meeting. This one was a stark contrast though to the useful one I was at earlier in the week. After hours, my (secret) hero Preston went up to present, and summed up my feelings about the meeting thus far: “I sit here listening to all that stuff, and I wonder, what does any of this have to do with me or teaching?” I wanted to applaud him. The other highlight too was when a Canadian teacher, Will, snuck into his slideshow of quotes from his students a picture of the Canadian hockey team with their gold medals.

After the meeting, we half planned something of a late birthday party at the local Round One, but we didn’t really plan it out well and most people went home so we did too. That’s ok though, it was a crazy week, and I slept in the car along the way.

The weekend was really laid back as well. I should have been getting stuff done, but I partly rebelled against myself and just took time off. Also it rained all weekend so I was reluctant to leave my house. I was able to thank people for their birthday wishes and catch up on movies I had been meaning to watch for months.

It was just a good weekend, even if I can’t find much to say about it. I guess that’s good enough on its own right? Now I'm just counting down the days until the 16th ^_^

"If you can't see the bright side of life, polish the dull side." -unknown

tnoy

Birthday on a Bus

Of course I’m not spending a whole day on the bus, but that’s where I’m writing this now. Anyways, I turn 27 today. Probably. I’ve had to think about it a couple of times, but it makes sense: 1983 minus 2010. Scratch that, that kind of math will make me negative years old.

I think it was a slow week again, but I got to talk with friends and family a satisfying amount, although I wish to just touch base with friends and/or family I haven’t communicated with in months, in some cases years. My sister Patty keeps telling me about her cute cat and I get jealous. :)

Perhaps I’m fluffing this up because I feel like I don’t have a lot to talk about again. I had 1 class all week, and the day of was the only time I came in to work on time. Also it was hard to go to bed before 2 in the morning. As you can guess, things are slow. I should be using that time to search for jobs and such, and to some extent I have, but I wish websites didn’t make it as difficult as possible, just like the customer service you’ll (try to) find on many others.

One day I spent over 2 hours cutting and pasting my resume Frankenstein style into a specific/restrictive format online because they had no “upload” button. By the time that was finally done I was so tired, annoyed and bored I didn’t want to look or apply for jobs anymore even though my resume was there now, which is probably why they do that in the first place; they want you to give up. Oh and the site will remove it in 30 days.

Neal suggested I get in touch with some of my old professors and classmates to ask around about head hunting firms or things of that nature. At the very least it’s good to know your options. I’ve never tried that before.

On Wednesday I went out for a Yayoi enkai (party) that was way up in the mountains somewhere, so I doubt I’ll be going again simply because it’ll be so hard to find. The food and company was good though, with some interesting foods I haven’t tried yet; like some kind of ‘long’ potato with dipping sauce and “Nagoya Style” rice ball that has tempura inside. Of course I was the only one drinking again, so it was very brief; it’s no fun drinking alone.

On Thursday I went out for sushi with Honami, Junko and their friend, with that sushi train restaurant remaining as my favourite place to gorge myself for a reasonable price. There was some talking, but not too much with all the Japanese flying around. Regardless, everyone wants to see my mom, so she’s in for a busy couple weeks. That reminds me to call Ono sensei… but Japanese etiquette looks down on people talking on their phone in public. Note to self for later I suppose.

On Friday it was time for the yearly ski trip at Nozawa Onsen. Last year I cancelled and it would have been great to cancel again, but maybe I buckle to imaginary social ‘obligations’? Sure I could have easily saved $120 by not going, but you do anything in Japan and it’s easy to have a bill add up that high for little things; that price doesn’t include food or drinks or anything else unless you count a simple breakfast.

It was Dougal, Richard and I splitting a car, so right away it was almost worth it to chill with 2 other cool dudes from Canada and talk about whatever; we even split a room. It rained the whole way, cementing my decision to save an additional $50+ by not going on the hill.

Instead I slept in, and somehow started watching the Olympics for the first time this year on TV. I was surprised how involved I got with half the women’s final curling match: from team Canada’s comeback from behind despite a lack of hammer, to their chokes that cost them the gold. Atleast they still netted silver I suppose.

I caught a little bit of speed skating later, where we won a gold and a bronze in one race, and I caught most of Canada’s hockey game. A big reason why I didn’t cancel this trip was to enjoy a room that was warm, and didn’t have me sucking kerosene fumes for that comfort. I dozed off half way through the game and came to when speed skating was on again.

I turned it off and slept for an hour more maybe. It’s so nice sleeping comfortably again, instead of in tomorrow’s clothes trying to keep warm. Lately I’ve been stopping myself from cursing the snow or winter, because really it’s quite pretty, and instead focus my frustration and loathing on Japanese heating systems and paper thin walls; one of the many reasons I’m leaving.

The only thing I ‘regret’ was not getting a picture on top of the mountain, capturing the fog that covered the town. It looked pretty as Richard showed me later, but wasn’t worth the money, nor the deadly run down through the fog on the hill on ice/slush. In fact, most of the pictures I took this weekend felt a bit forced; I just wanted something fresh to put up on my blog after last week.

Dougal came back around 3 and finally got me out of bed so we could try an onsen (hot spring). Nozawa Onsen, as the town’s name implies, has many onsens. Many are small and free, with au natural smells. As soon as we stepped in this charming little shack and smelt rotten eggs/sulfur, you know it’s the real deal.

This place was quite small, and as I’ve been warned before, the water was scalding hot. There was no bathroom, and no real showers to bath first, so you had to clean by pouring the scalding water on yourself.

Once you’re in, like I’ve told my mom and sister, it’s important to move as little as possible. The more you move, the more it will sting and burn. Even so, I had to make fists because my fingertips felt like they were on fire. In seconds I was a lobster red, and after a couple minutes I joined the others sitting around the ledges.

The second time jumping in isn’t as bad, but we didn’t stay too long, and had to shower when we got back anyways to get the smell off. After we met up with his friends for a quick chat and drink. I was annoyed enough when a rum and coke was $5, but apparently that was happy hour, and they wanted $8 later.

Maybe I’m getting older, bitter and/or cheaper, but I kept thinking of the 4 (or more) bigger cans of something better I could get at a convenience store. Why do consumers put up with this abuse and insult at pubs? It reminds me of people who spend that much on a terrible cup of coffee at Starbucks, and for what? It’s certainly not for the atmosphere, I can easily build a better one at home with less pretentious strangers.

To be fair to Starbucks I don’t hate them for their product, but for their prices and what they represent. For example, try to purchase absolutely anything from them the next time you’re at an airport and ‘only’ have $4, which should be enough for a breakfast at any competent place.

Anyways, Dougal and I left early to join a supper we had signed up to days earlier. We were at the hotel meeting place 10 to 15 minutes early of the publicly announced meeting time, but were worried when no one was around. We called the organizer, and not only were they almost finished eating, but they gave our spots away.

In their defense they tried to contact us, but up on a ski hill and in the town, phone reception is very hard to come by. We weren’t heart broken to miss out on the supper, but I was steamed at how the whole thing unfolded. We were early, but that was too late apparently. Dougal and I were reminded why we don’t like being around other JETs much, and rejoined his friends.

Later we met up with Richard and played games at the hotel because I brought my Nintendo Wii. The 3 of us talked until late; another nice, rare treat, bringing nostalgia of all those volleyball trips I used to go on. I can’t wait until I can play volleyball again, or anything really to get in shape that isn’t jogging. Another one of the reasons I’m leaving; my limited options here.

On Sunday it was actually snowing, and skiing/snowboarding would actually have been fun, but we didn’t care and left early for home. Unfortunately life here being what it is, “going home Sunday” usually means you won’t be home until it’s dark even if you have things you need to get done. It wasn’t all arduous I guess, we got to see Neal. The host with the most offered tea, drinks, video games, and gave me my first birthday present: a can of root beer. I love that guy <3

We went for burgers and met up with T and her friend visiting from Australia. I bought a burger to go again, and enjoyed it that night with my new root beer. Richard was over again, and we watching the Russia vs. Canada game on the Internet. Later I called Ann and was delighted she got her Visa. She bought her ticket and will visit me on March 16^th; another awesome birthday present.

After meeting dozens of girls, going on even more dates, and being where I am is yet another reason I’m leaving Japan. It’s hard to believe I’ve been single for almost 5 years now but I just don’t think about it, and now I like to think I have fun regardless, as I should.

Neal and I are talking about backpacking around Canada this summer when I go home. He also asked about things I wanted to see around Japan before I go. Other than a fleeting interest to see Hokkaido, I’m mostly done, and am waiting for Ann and/or my mom to come and see things with me.

I went to see a lot of JETs, but talked surprisingly little with most of them. Many times I get bored of ‘conversations’ that are little more than making noise and going through the motions. At times I crave intellectual and stimulating talks, the kind that challenge my beliefs and help me grow as a person.

The biggest thing bugging me lately is my notion of “common sense.” Common sense isn’t common if everyone apparently doesn’t know. I was reading someone’s ‘brilliant’ travel tips that included: “don’t cause people to lose face.” …I’ll keep that in mind the next time I’m trying to make someone feel stupid…?

Other gems included “smile at people” and “don’t forget your wallet”. I don’t know what I can say about that… I thought that kind of ‘advice’ went without saying. Clearly they must have done this wrong if they felt compelled to write it down. That or they just love to read their words that taste like butter to their eyes.

Speaking of which, for not having much to talk about I guess I wrote a lot. My bus is almost there though and I have time. I’m in Tokyo/Yokohama the next couple days for the “leaver’s conference.” Prepping me for my reverse culture shock, how to apply for jobs, and fun stuff like that. I just hope it gives me some advice I can actually use.

Ah well, I’ll leave the rest for next week’s update and play games now. I just wish whoever is farting on this bus would stop; another ‘common sense’ point I take for granted. It’s funny that when I think about it, this has happened to me quite often in Japan now, minus the times I’m on an empty bus. Regardless, it’s quite gross.

(update?) I’m in my hotel now ready to post this. I’ve been smiling as I went over several birthday greetings from many different people. Thank you very much :) Yes, it was a great day. I hope to write back formally when I’m home and have more battery power; I should post this soon ^_^

“It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense.” - Robert Green Ingersoll

tnoy