Wow guys...almost 2 years since my last post!!!
that's wild!
what a roller coaster ride of events, emotions, academia, friendships, relationships, and everything in between since I last posted!
Well...just wanted to say, I'm going to try to get back to blogging.
Gonna start my new fieldwork placement on Monday at Chaparral Elementary! I'm excited! and a little nervous! But I really think this quarter is going to be a blast, and can't wait.
The last 8 months I was placed at Davis Magnet in Costa Mesa with Miss Lopez's phenomenal 4th grade class! Man...that was a roller coaster ride of emotions and health all in itself!
Let's see...
Chisato is in Irvine which is so crazy. Just hung out with her again tonight. I introduce her to everyone as my "dental assistant" from Sapporo because I still can't get over how random and small the world is. She came to the ballet with me! We, by we I mean Raymond, Khang, Ruthy, Chisato, and her friend from Korea, all went to see "Firebird" at the Segerstrom Hall tonight. It was beautiful. The set design was amazing. The dancers incredible. The music wonderful. It was my first time at a professional production of a ballet and I really enjoyed it! Even got to smooze a little with a few deans from UCI, our art professor for next quarter, and our program coordinator, whom I'm becoming to appreciate and love more and more as the weeks progress.
Well anyway, that seems kinda boring news. But....2 years from now when I read this post again, it'll be interesting to me! And that's ultimately what this blog is for, right? A sort of electronic diary.
Alright, well Spring Break is almost officially over. Finished my Teaching Event last Sunday. Submitted it 1 minute before the midnight deadline. Wrote the whole thing (a total of 125 pages in the end) in like...less than 2 days. Which is WILD. I honestly don't know how I did it. I just powered through. Again, couldn't have survived the quarter without Raymond, let alone finished the darn thing. The best way I can describe it, it's equivalent to what others would call their Master's Thesis.
So yea, 2 days left of Spring Break. Reminds me...I've got to contact Ryan to see if he's free to travel somewhere the week of June, after my graduation!
And...gotta buy a dress this weekend for Vegas! 27...you guys, I'll be in my "late twenties" in less than 8 days! Crazy!!
Let's hope this year is as good as everyone says it is.
I gotta admit, as I was warned, 26 is blah. In fact though, 26 was actually a whole lotta miserable mixed in with a whole lotta soul searching. But...I'm starting to feel like my life is slowly getting back on track again. And it feels good. Feels good to just...have my life back!! (Though that may be a short lived sentiment, come Monday morning!)
Well, I think that's enough of an update for now! I'm excited to see what mayhem and joy the next 10 weeks bring!!!
Love,
-j9
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
2 months and counting
A few days ago, I had the realization that I only have 8 weekends left in Sapporo. So it's crunch time to get everything crossed off my mental list of "things to do in Japan before I leave". For example...see more soccer games. go white water rafting. see Niseko. see Wakkanai (the most northern city in Japan). see Hiroshima. see Mt. Fuji. see the lilacs in Furano. Partake in another garden other than "Kirin" at the Summer Beer Festival. join a Yosakoi team! eat okonomiyaki one more time. eat sushi a few more times. eat soup curry a few more times. what am i missing...
well anyway...
this weekend is Jesse's "house-warming party" - 2 months belated. but always glad to celebrate anything with such fine people.
June 12 is Yosakoi Festival weekend. My FAVORITE in Japan!!!! And Ming knows of some...thing...where we join a group for 5 hours - intensive 1-hour Yosakoi dance course and then we perform in Odori (!?). It's also Sara's bday. and Callie's "superhero party". Bummer they all lie on the same day. I told Sara, it's been my dream since I first saw a performance by a group of 6th graders at a visiting ES, and then saw the LARGE scope of it at the Yosakoi dancing last year, that I wanted to learn the dance and join a team. Well, it's quite intensive work. that requires a large investment of time. My laziness and extreme admiration for sleeping worked against me on this one, and won out. Also didn't help that no one else was interested to join me. and i wasn't interested to do it on my own. can't blame em. But then i get a text from Ming a few weeks, very cryptic, about taking a one hour course on a Sat, and i immediately replied with a "most definitely count me in". Then Sara reminded me her bday and the Yosakoi thing fall on the same day. Originally, we had planned to go out for "afternoon karaoke" because the last time was such a hit. Jesse had ordered all of our own pitcher of alcohol. We had 10 minutes left in our 2 hour limit (which could be extended). But all of us were a bit intoxicated to think clearly...me especially. That Jesse instructed us to just chug out pitchers cuz alcohol can't go to waste and we only had 10 minutes left. So...I drank the whole pitcher of u-me-shu (plum wine). in 10 minutes. of course no one else did. But you instruct me to carry out an important task for a probably task, while already intoxicated, and I'll do it.
Of course, on our walk to Sapporo Station, I fell in some bushes (thought it was hilarious). and puked in a porty potty. Not my finest moment perhaps. But DAMN funny. and still makes for a good laugh. But anyway, can't do another bout of afternoon karaoke because Sara was kind enough to understand how important the yosakoi thing is to my overall Japanese experience.
So I told her that we'd at least have dinner, cuz her bday is more important than Callie's party. But ... that doesn't mean I intend to miss out on callie's party. I'll be there. just later.
Um...originally I meant to post about my past weekend. But I've got 5 minutes til class.
So quick recap. Went to a soccer game at the outdoor Atsubetsu Stadium. BEAUTIFUL day. we won 3-1. Japanese sports audiences are so funny. They stand up for 2 hours chanting the same thing. over and over.
It was super cute -- there was a 10 year old boy (my guess) who had come with just his grandpa. and everytime Sapporo scored, they jumped in the air rejoicing, giving each other high-fives and hugs. it was ADORABLE. I hope...I...my...husband can do that with my grandchildren some day.
whew...that's a far out hope...haha
clearly i just came up with that one. but yea, it would be nice.
murray also had his "2nd annual ping-pong tournament". it was a crowded party. ping pong was lame. small talk was lame. didn't get interesting until most people left and jesse got TRASHED. rolled around on the tatami like a cat in cat nip giggling to himself (unfortunately i was the only one who witnessed it). haha.
and then went on his usual anger rant about something/someone. This time it was directed toward krista and Dan.
Anyway, we brought him back to my place. tried to calm him down. we were FINALLY able to do so with a youtube clip of the "invisible sidewalk". it's kind of sad if you watch it sober. but when you're drunk, it's HILARIOUS.
then we spent an hour watching various you tube videos. mostly just drunk people falling. SO good.
Alright, time to go.
Yay! Glad I got a post in. Too bad, it's already June.
no wait..thank goodness it's june.
it's JUNE!!
YAY!!
oh yea, and saw Prince of Persia with Sara and Dan and Krista last night. hm...that was a so-so movie. but i DO love Jake. so my opinion is heavily biased.
well anyway...
this weekend is Jesse's "house-warming party" - 2 months belated. but always glad to celebrate anything with such fine people.
June 12 is Yosakoi Festival weekend. My FAVORITE in Japan!!!! And Ming knows of some...thing...where we join a group for 5 hours - intensive 1-hour Yosakoi dance course and then we perform in Odori (!?). It's also Sara's bday. and Callie's "superhero party". Bummer they all lie on the same day. I told Sara, it's been my dream since I first saw a performance by a group of 6th graders at a visiting ES, and then saw the LARGE scope of it at the Yosakoi dancing last year, that I wanted to learn the dance and join a team. Well, it's quite intensive work. that requires a large investment of time. My laziness and extreme admiration for sleeping worked against me on this one, and won out. Also didn't help that no one else was interested to join me. and i wasn't interested to do it on my own. can't blame em. But then i get a text from Ming a few weeks, very cryptic, about taking a one hour course on a Sat, and i immediately replied with a "most definitely count me in". Then Sara reminded me her bday and the Yosakoi thing fall on the same day. Originally, we had planned to go out for "afternoon karaoke" because the last time was such a hit. Jesse had ordered all of our own pitcher of alcohol. We had 10 minutes left in our 2 hour limit (which could be extended). But all of us were a bit intoxicated to think clearly...me especially. That Jesse instructed us to just chug out pitchers cuz alcohol can't go to waste and we only had 10 minutes left. So...I drank the whole pitcher of u-me-shu (plum wine). in 10 minutes. of course no one else did. But you instruct me to carry out an important task for a probably task, while already intoxicated, and I'll do it.
Of course, on our walk to Sapporo Station, I fell in some bushes (thought it was hilarious). and puked in a porty potty. Not my finest moment perhaps. But DAMN funny. and still makes for a good laugh. But anyway, can't do another bout of afternoon karaoke because Sara was kind enough to understand how important the yosakoi thing is to my overall Japanese experience.
So I told her that we'd at least have dinner, cuz her bday is more important than Callie's party. But ... that doesn't mean I intend to miss out on callie's party. I'll be there. just later.
Um...originally I meant to post about my past weekend. But I've got 5 minutes til class.
So quick recap. Went to a soccer game at the outdoor Atsubetsu Stadium. BEAUTIFUL day. we won 3-1. Japanese sports audiences are so funny. They stand up for 2 hours chanting the same thing. over and over.
It was super cute -- there was a 10 year old boy (my guess) who had come with just his grandpa. and everytime Sapporo scored, they jumped in the air rejoicing, giving each other high-fives and hugs. it was ADORABLE. I hope...I...my...husband can do that with my grandchildren some day.
whew...that's a far out hope...haha
clearly i just came up with that one. but yea, it would be nice.
murray also had his "2nd annual ping-pong tournament". it was a crowded party. ping pong was lame. small talk was lame. didn't get interesting until most people left and jesse got TRASHED. rolled around on the tatami like a cat in cat nip giggling to himself (unfortunately i was the only one who witnessed it). haha.
and then went on his usual anger rant about something/someone. This time it was directed toward krista and Dan.
Anyway, we brought him back to my place. tried to calm him down. we were FINALLY able to do so with a youtube clip of the "invisible sidewalk". it's kind of sad if you watch it sober. but when you're drunk, it's HILARIOUS.
then we spent an hour watching various you tube videos. mostly just drunk people falling. SO good.
Alright, time to go.
Yay! Glad I got a post in. Too bad, it's already June.
no wait..thank goodness it's june.
it's JUNE!!
YAY!!
oh yea, and saw Prince of Persia with Sara and Dan and Krista last night. hm...that was a so-so movie. but i DO love Jake. so my opinion is heavily biased.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Visit Home II
Everytime I think to blog...I stare at the blank webpage and find myself at a loss of anything intersting to write.
But I suppose the most obvious topic would be my visit home last month - so I'll touch a bit on that for those who I didn't get a chance to write personally or see and catch up with.
Anyway, here's a copy of an email i sent to tracy and nancy with a small recap - mostly about vegas:
Sorry guys, it's just easier this way. haha. also, i feel self concious typing at my new school cuz the keyboard is AT LEAST 25 years old and bangs like a brick everytime i press a key -- I'm getting a lot of stares. =)
I have to just remind myself...that sometimes this blog is for me too. It's easier to navigate this than a bunch of emails over a span of 2 years.
So this is my reply to Tracy's text asking how vegas was. As a birthday gift, Dan took me to Vegas even though he loathes the place. I think he likes it a bit more now...=) i hope. We stayed there for 2 nights. Lost lots of money on alcohol and penny slots. And...ate a lot of Del Taco.
An AMAZING AMAZING trip. it was perfect. =)
skipping the part about hating that "razor" phone...not believing how i used it for 2 years...
and...begin:
Anyway, Vegas was AMAZING. We decided on the trump hotel and it was really nice. Dan loved that there was no casino in the lobby. It literally feels like a normal hotel. In that respect, I was sort of like oh... Well this is real nice... But where's Vegas!!?! Haha. The suite was really cool. Way better than the one we all shared at the Venetian. But that's the only other suite I can compare it too. Never stayed in another. Next time, city centre or wynn would be cool. But also unnecessary if u still ask me. Haha. I'm fine with an in between. But the trump room had a TV embedded in the bathroom mirror. His and her sinks. Jacuzzi bath. Flat screens and couches. Nothing extremely like "whoooooa!!" except, well, that TV in the mirror thing. It was just real elegant looking. And a great view of the strip.
We saw Penn and teller. I got a picture with Penn. Dan got one with teller. Haha. Dan and I shared the brownie at the beg of the show but I must have given him more cuz he felt it a little and I didn't (he giggled really loud for what seemed 5 min when the whole auditorium was silent and p&t were in between jokes/skits). Haha
I lost $200 in penny slots! Dan is so mean and dangerous. Always egging me on, feeding me MY cash, and laughing when I lose it all. Haha. It was so much fun. Doesn't help when you add A LOT of alcohol into the equation. We decided the next time we go, I'm in charge of credit, he's in charge of cash. (he got carried away with drinks by the end --usuing a credit card is just too easy to buy and tip ridiculous amounts without ever being conscious of what you're spending). He threw up at some point in the night... After golfing down a plate of 6 stack pancakes DRENCHED in maple syrup, in less than 5 min.
The upside to the spending/losing money is that he won $200 on a basketball game. So we evened out by the end. =) it was a blast. I stand by my belief that Vegas is magic and can never do wrong. Ever. =) still my favorite city in the world!! ;)
How was Chicago??
The trip home made me soooooo look forward to moving back. I can't wait!! the elusive countdown has started. Sigh. 3 months feels easier than 12 weeks. So I keep telling myself to stick to months rather than weeks or days.
Gonna see you all again real soon! Yay! Cant come soon enough...
=)
j9
There you have it.
While in LA/OC...Dan also took me to see 39 steps - a broadway show featuring only 4 actors playing multiple roles, based on the Hitchcock film of the same name. It was really good! I was just sleepy a bit cuz we'd just gotten back from driving from vegas. After that wild night of drinking and losing all our cash. Dan kept yelling at me for yawning. but it couldnt be helped! I'm sorry. =) That was my other birthday gift. And Dan got us like 5th row direct center seats. It was perfect. and probably really expensive. So sweet. =) And I think it was a play that he actually enjoyed too. so it worked out great.
I also caught up on a few films - saw Kick-Ass. Loved it! Really good. really fresh. Saw How to train a Dragon with Dan's brother. Haha...he's so cute. Both of them. ;)
And saw a midnight screening of the "The Room" at Sunset 5 in Hollywood. You should youtube a clip. It's a ridiculous movie. and has acquired a "rocky-horror" cult following that involves monthly midnight viewings where people scream out obscenities and throw spoons at the screen. It was fun. We ate at Sushi-Dan before hand and I forgot how delicious american sushi rolls are! Omg...I've had enough "roundtable clipper"...just gimme the baked fried mayo-infused drizzled in eel-sauce breaded concoctions you call sushi, please! yum yum
We also...tried smoking for the first time. and we've both vowed never to do it again. To put it shortly, I had extreme hallucinations and paranoia involving deep black abysses...muscles burning alive under my skin...and a fear of losing myself and/or dan at a constant fearful never-ending repetitive rate. I just screamed and dazed and cried and screamed a lot. And I know what you think...we got some bad stuff. Or it was laced. It wasn't. I'm just...not built for this stuff. Drugs are definitely not my forte. And I'm glad and happy and thankful to know that. Had a similar experience in Cambodia where it just...zonked me out and wasn't the least bit...entertaining or relaxing or subduing or anything. it was just...terrible.
So...there was thaaat.
Ok, well I think that's a sufficient enough recap. If I feel there was more, I'll come back next week.
Oh, also caught up with Tracy, Nancy, Chris, and Kat over Ethiopian Food at Little Ethiopia. Sorry Nancy...I keep trying to give it another shot...it's good...but I don't think it's a food I'll ever crave.
Also caught up a second time over Souplantation. Dan was upset that over all the places to eat in LA, we had to choose Souplantation. But...you know what...even just having a decent salad and muffin and iced milk (!!!! yum!!!!) was more than i could say I've had in the past 10 months in Japan. So I still enjoyed myself. and it was just about hanging out.
Ill be back in no time...and we can eat at all the exotic fancy unique restaurants we want.
I'm so hungry. Today we had natto for lunch. the staff-room stank. and all the teachers got a KICK out of repeatedly asking me...."oh you don't like it? haha. oh you didn't eat it? haha. did you eat it? are you eating it? did you see we have natto?!" It's just the japanese way of opening communication. And...i do have to take some credit for it...I did say at the beginning of my introduction to all the classes...and at the enkai (work drinking party) that i dont like natto. But that's only cuz they get a total kick out of it. Like..."oh...haha. you're so funny. you just totally reaffirm our stereotypes about foreigners!" It's fine. I don't mind feeding into it...if it warrants a few smiles and friendly gestures now and then.
In 10 minutes I'll be hopping on a bus and heading over to Maruyama Koen for the annual Hanami Party - a BBQ and drinking gathering under the cherry blossoms in the park. I missed it last year, I was in the Phillippines. This year the cherry blossoms have bloomed real late - it's been exceptionally colder this year and for longer...than it has in the past. so the flowers have been slower to bloom.
I'm just looking forward to it because maybe for a few hours, I can forget about how much I wanna be home already. home home.
But I suppose the most obvious topic would be my visit home last month - so I'll touch a bit on that for those who I didn't get a chance to write personally or see and catch up with.
Anyway, here's a copy of an email i sent to tracy and nancy with a small recap - mostly about vegas:
Sorry guys, it's just easier this way. haha. also, i feel self concious typing at my new school cuz the keyboard is AT LEAST 25 years old and bangs like a brick everytime i press a key -- I'm getting a lot of stares. =)
I have to just remind myself...that sometimes this blog is for me too. It's easier to navigate this than a bunch of emails over a span of 2 years.
So this is my reply to Tracy's text asking how vegas was. As a birthday gift, Dan took me to Vegas even though he loathes the place. I think he likes it a bit more now...=) i hope. We stayed there for 2 nights. Lost lots of money on alcohol and penny slots. And...ate a lot of Del Taco.
An AMAZING AMAZING trip. it was perfect. =)
skipping the part about hating that "razor" phone...not believing how i used it for 2 years...
and...begin:
Anyway, Vegas was AMAZING. We decided on the trump hotel and it was really nice. Dan loved that there was no casino in the lobby. It literally feels like a normal hotel. In that respect, I was sort of like oh... Well this is real nice... But where's Vegas!!?! Haha. The suite was really cool. Way better than the one we all shared at the Venetian. But that's the only other suite I can compare it too. Never stayed in another. Next time, city centre or wynn would be cool. But also unnecessary if u still ask me. Haha. I'm fine with an in between. But the trump room had a TV embedded in the bathroom mirror. His and her sinks. Jacuzzi bath. Flat screens and couches. Nothing extremely like "whoooooa!!" except, well, that TV in the mirror thing. It was just real elegant looking. And a great view of the strip.
We saw Penn and teller. I got a picture with Penn. Dan got one with teller. Haha. Dan and I shared the brownie at the beg of the show but I must have given him more cuz he felt it a little and I didn't (he giggled really loud for what seemed 5 min when the whole auditorium was silent and p&t were in between jokes/skits). Haha
I lost $200 in penny slots! Dan is so mean and dangerous. Always egging me on, feeding me MY cash, and laughing when I lose it all. Haha. It was so much fun. Doesn't help when you add A LOT of alcohol into the equation. We decided the next time we go, I'm in charge of credit, he's in charge of cash. (he got carried away with drinks by the end --usuing a credit card is just too easy to buy and tip ridiculous amounts without ever being conscious of what you're spending). He threw up at some point in the night... After golfing down a plate of 6 stack pancakes DRENCHED in maple syrup, in less than 5 min.
The upside to the spending/losing money is that he won $200 on a basketball game. So we evened out by the end. =) it was a blast. I stand by my belief that Vegas is magic and can never do wrong. Ever. =) still my favorite city in the world!! ;)
How was Chicago??
The trip home made me soooooo look forward to moving back. I can't wait!! the elusive countdown has started. Sigh. 3 months feels easier than 12 weeks. So I keep telling myself to stick to months rather than weeks or days.
Gonna see you all again real soon! Yay! Cant come soon enough...
=)
j9
There you have it.
While in LA/OC...Dan also took me to see 39 steps - a broadway show featuring only 4 actors playing multiple roles, based on the Hitchcock film of the same name. It was really good! I was just sleepy a bit cuz we'd just gotten back from driving from vegas. After that wild night of drinking and losing all our cash. Dan kept yelling at me for yawning. but it couldnt be helped! I'm sorry. =) That was my other birthday gift. And Dan got us like 5th row direct center seats. It was perfect. and probably really expensive. So sweet. =) And I think it was a play that he actually enjoyed too. so it worked out great.
I also caught up on a few films - saw Kick-Ass. Loved it! Really good. really fresh. Saw How to train a Dragon with Dan's brother. Haha...he's so cute. Both of them. ;)
And saw a midnight screening of the "The Room" at Sunset 5 in Hollywood. You should youtube a clip. It's a ridiculous movie. and has acquired a "rocky-horror" cult following that involves monthly midnight viewings where people scream out obscenities and throw spoons at the screen. It was fun. We ate at Sushi-Dan before hand and I forgot how delicious american sushi rolls are! Omg...I've had enough "roundtable clipper"...just gimme the baked fried mayo-infused drizzled in eel-sauce breaded concoctions you call sushi, please! yum yum
We also...tried smoking for the first time. and we've both vowed never to do it again. To put it shortly, I had extreme hallucinations and paranoia involving deep black abysses...muscles burning alive under my skin...and a fear of losing myself and/or dan at a constant fearful never-ending repetitive rate. I just screamed and dazed and cried and screamed a lot. And I know what you think...we got some bad stuff. Or it was laced. It wasn't. I'm just...not built for this stuff. Drugs are definitely not my forte. And I'm glad and happy and thankful to know that. Had a similar experience in Cambodia where it just...zonked me out and wasn't the least bit...entertaining or relaxing or subduing or anything. it was just...terrible.
So...there was thaaat.
Ok, well I think that's a sufficient enough recap. If I feel there was more, I'll come back next week.
Oh, also caught up with Tracy, Nancy, Chris, and Kat over Ethiopian Food at Little Ethiopia. Sorry Nancy...I keep trying to give it another shot...it's good...but I don't think it's a food I'll ever crave.
Also caught up a second time over Souplantation. Dan was upset that over all the places to eat in LA, we had to choose Souplantation. But...you know what...even just having a decent salad and muffin and iced milk (!!!! yum!!!!) was more than i could say I've had in the past 10 months in Japan. So I still enjoyed myself. and it was just about hanging out.
Ill be back in no time...and we can eat at all the exotic fancy unique restaurants we want.
I'm so hungry. Today we had natto for lunch. the staff-room stank. and all the teachers got a KICK out of repeatedly asking me...."oh you don't like it? haha. oh you didn't eat it? haha. did you eat it? are you eating it? did you see we have natto?!" It's just the japanese way of opening communication. And...i do have to take some credit for it...I did say at the beginning of my introduction to all the classes...and at the enkai (work drinking party) that i dont like natto. But that's only cuz they get a total kick out of it. Like..."oh...haha. you're so funny. you just totally reaffirm our stereotypes about foreigners!" It's fine. I don't mind feeding into it...if it warrants a few smiles and friendly gestures now and then.
In 10 minutes I'll be hopping on a bus and heading over to Maruyama Koen for the annual Hanami Party - a BBQ and drinking gathering under the cherry blossoms in the park. I missed it last year, I was in the Phillippines. This year the cherry blossoms have bloomed real late - it's been exceptionally colder this year and for longer...than it has in the past. so the flowers have been slower to bloom.
I'm just looking forward to it because maybe for a few hours, I can forget about how much I wanna be home already. home home.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
my 25th bday
My 25th birthday was a blast. We celebrated it with a chinese family style dinner and then an all nighter at "Round 1" - a 6 story amusement park venue that includes everything from batting cages and minature golf, tennis and BB guns, nerf ball obstacle courses and roller blading, massage chairs equipped with personal TVs and a full floor of arcade games, to kick boxing and bowling. It's insane. and all this for 7 hours for $15!!! An all night - do whatever you please wherever you please however you please for 7 hours for the low low low price of 15 bucks! unbelievable!
The whole night I was running around like a kid on acid. All I needed to complete the night was a hand full of bright pink cotton candy and I would be estactily in heaven. Found out how much I missed and loved roller blading. Found out I still haven't the slightest idea how to ride a bike, let alone an automatic low rider slow speed motorbike. Found an arcade game where the sole purpose is to walk your dog through a neighborhood. Comes equipped with a full-on treadmill and a fake dog at the front with a fake leash that moves from left to right. I spent 5 minutes (sadly, maybe more), and I still couldn't figure out how the game worked. but it was silly. and it amused me for quite some time.
I think everyone had fun. A few people crashed by about 4am. People who came...
Lets see...to the dinner it was Jesse, Kristine, Ayaka, Ming, Roy, Sara, Dan, Satako, Dan2, Krista, Andy, Jonna Lynn, Mark Coehlo, Mark Dutelle...is that 14? yup...
everyone but Ayaka and Dutelle came to Round 1.
Unfortunately, Andy broke his tiny pinky toe finger on his left foot while playing soccer. So him and Jonna Lynn left early (around 230am). He went to the hospital Sunday. Got surgery on Monday (they do surgery for everything here!!) and...gets the whole week off. I'd say...the trade off of having a tiny toe broken, for a whole week off school and paid, nonetheless, is pretty sweet. I hope he's ok. JL says so. So that's good.
The chinese food was decent. Lacked beef. Because you can't get beef in Japan unless you wanna pay $100 for it in Kobe. Which by the way, we did. and....unfortunately, sad to report, Jesse, Maura, and I have to say it's worse than a $15 outback steak house steak. But Kristine claims it was savory and melt in your mouth. We all had the same cut!! So...who knows what went wrong. Well...J, M, and I DID order medium and she ordered rare. apparently "international definitions" of meat cooking must be different cuz in Japan "medium" means charcoal well done. and rare means pink. Maybe we just had a bad cook and Kristine got lucky. Anyway, it was a waste of $100. but at least i can say i tried real kobe beef. hmph. ha. So yea, um...back to my point. its very difficult to find beef in any chinese restaurant here because beef is just too expensive to come by. so any "beef" dish you'd normally see at Sam Woo...is instead traded with pork or chicken. which is fine i guess. just...interesting.
ok, gotta run. I gotta tell my teacher I made a mistake with my flight dates. ah!
O and yes...this new school is a heaven sent. I know it's still only the second week, but it's amazing. Honeymoon phase or no honeymoon phase. I think anything is better than the hell hole I was stuck in last year. Makes me both sad and happy being here. Sad cuz I KNEW i was being neglected and "abused" at that last school, but you dont REEEALLY know until you see what's the norm in sincerity and human niceness....but happy because ... people are nice! and...they're people! and they treat me like a person!
I can get into that later.
thanks for reading ;)
j9
The whole night I was running around like a kid on acid. All I needed to complete the night was a hand full of bright pink cotton candy and I would be estactily in heaven. Found out how much I missed and loved roller blading. Found out I still haven't the slightest idea how to ride a bike, let alone an automatic low rider slow speed motorbike. Found an arcade game where the sole purpose is to walk your dog through a neighborhood. Comes equipped with a full-on treadmill and a fake dog at the front with a fake leash that moves from left to right. I spent 5 minutes (sadly, maybe more), and I still couldn't figure out how the game worked. but it was silly. and it amused me for quite some time.
I think everyone had fun. A few people crashed by about 4am. People who came...
Lets see...to the dinner it was Jesse, Kristine, Ayaka, Ming, Roy, Sara, Dan, Satako, Dan2, Krista, Andy, Jonna Lynn, Mark Coehlo, Mark Dutelle...is that 14? yup...
everyone but Ayaka and Dutelle came to Round 1.
Unfortunately, Andy broke his tiny pinky toe finger on his left foot while playing soccer. So him and Jonna Lynn left early (around 230am). He went to the hospital Sunday. Got surgery on Monday (they do surgery for everything here!!) and...gets the whole week off. I'd say...the trade off of having a tiny toe broken, for a whole week off school and paid, nonetheless, is pretty sweet. I hope he's ok. JL says so. So that's good.
The chinese food was decent. Lacked beef. Because you can't get beef in Japan unless you wanna pay $100 for it in Kobe. Which by the way, we did. and....unfortunately, sad to report, Jesse, Maura, and I have to say it's worse than a $15 outback steak house steak. But Kristine claims it was savory and melt in your mouth. We all had the same cut!! So...who knows what went wrong. Well...J, M, and I DID order medium and she ordered rare. apparently "international definitions" of meat cooking must be different cuz in Japan "medium" means charcoal well done. and rare means pink. Maybe we just had a bad cook and Kristine got lucky. Anyway, it was a waste of $100. but at least i can say i tried real kobe beef. hmph. ha. So yea, um...back to my point. its very difficult to find beef in any chinese restaurant here because beef is just too expensive to come by. so any "beef" dish you'd normally see at Sam Woo...is instead traded with pork or chicken. which is fine i guess. just...interesting.
ok, gotta run. I gotta tell my teacher I made a mistake with my flight dates. ah!
O and yes...this new school is a heaven sent. I know it's still only the second week, but it's amazing. Honeymoon phase or no honeymoon phase. I think anything is better than the hell hole I was stuck in last year. Makes me both sad and happy being here. Sad cuz I KNEW i was being neglected and "abused" at that last school, but you dont REEEALLY know until you see what's the norm in sincerity and human niceness....but happy because ... people are nice! and...they're people! and they treat me like a person!
I can get into that later.
thanks for reading ;)
j9
Monday, March 15, 2010
This and That
Whew harsh words in that last post of mine. I can safely say, self awareness isn't always a good thing. (but on most counts it is, of course).
So I'm just killing time in a warm starbucks. Sipping the new cherry blossomed flavored frappeccino. It's sort of a sugared white vanilla concoction with pretty pink dye thrown in. It's pretty tasty. But anything bigger than a "short" size is too much. It's just too sweet. In japan, they've got "short size" which is smaller than the tall. It's about...well... It's shorter than the length of my iPhone by about 3cm and about the same width. Haha, so imagine how ridiculously tiny that is for a drink. I remember when I first saw a girl sipping one of these sizes, over a year and a half ago (wow!) I was like, holy crap, that's smaller than a kid sized happy meal drink. What's the point, you get three sips and you're done! Well my dears... A year and a half in japan has shown me the light. And I have more consciousness about size and what's really necessary to satisfy a crave. Nothing more than the size of my tiny hand.
Watching the rain pour down outside. It's the first rain of the (new?) season after about 4 months of snow. I think they say it'll still snow a few more times before the seasons end, but it's good to see some rain melt all that ugly ice on the ground.
So killing time before I head off to the cinema to watch hurt locker. To be honest, I have absolutely NO desire to see it, but.... Everyone says it's good. Sigh. Haha, so see it I shall. I'm sure I'll think it's great when I come out, I just have no initial interest to see it.
Yesterday was "White Day" in japan. I'm still a little confused about which is which. But it's basically valentines day for the opposite sex. And it's just as huge of a holiday here as valentines is. Yup. Valentines day and it's counterpart, white day, I would say, are almost a bigger deal here than in the states! Scary, huh?
Went to a yakiniku dinner (grill your own BBQ meat) with Jesse dan satako krista and dan2. It was fun. All toucan eat meat and veges and alcohol for 2 hours --> $23. Pretty tasty. But of course by the end we all had eaten way too much and weren't as satisfied after as we should have been.
Typing on my iPhone makes my eyes wiggle in their sockets. So ithink I'll have to call it a day.
Miss ya guys,
can't wait to catch up again,
Janine
So I'm just killing time in a warm starbucks. Sipping the new cherry blossomed flavored frappeccino. It's sort of a sugared white vanilla concoction with pretty pink dye thrown in. It's pretty tasty. But anything bigger than a "short" size is too much. It's just too sweet. In japan, they've got "short size" which is smaller than the tall. It's about...well... It's shorter than the length of my iPhone by about 3cm and about the same width. Haha, so imagine how ridiculously tiny that is for a drink. I remember when I first saw a girl sipping one of these sizes, over a year and a half ago (wow!) I was like, holy crap, that's smaller than a kid sized happy meal drink. What's the point, you get three sips and you're done! Well my dears... A year and a half in japan has shown me the light. And I have more consciousness about size and what's really necessary to satisfy a crave. Nothing more than the size of my tiny hand.
Watching the rain pour down outside. It's the first rain of the (new?) season after about 4 months of snow. I think they say it'll still snow a few more times before the seasons end, but it's good to see some rain melt all that ugly ice on the ground.
So killing time before I head off to the cinema to watch hurt locker. To be honest, I have absolutely NO desire to see it, but.... Everyone says it's good. Sigh. Haha, so see it I shall. I'm sure I'll think it's great when I come out, I just have no initial interest to see it.
Yesterday was "White Day" in japan. I'm still a little confused about which is which. But it's basically valentines day for the opposite sex. And it's just as huge of a holiday here as valentines is. Yup. Valentines day and it's counterpart, white day, I would say, are almost a bigger deal here than in the states! Scary, huh?
Went to a yakiniku dinner (grill your own BBQ meat) with Jesse dan satako krista and dan2. It was fun. All toucan eat meat and veges and alcohol for 2 hours --> $23. Pretty tasty. But of course by the end we all had eaten way too much and weren't as satisfied after as we should have been.
Typing on my iPhone makes my eyes wiggle in their sockets. So ithink I'll have to call it a day.
Miss ya guys,
can't wait to catch up again,
Janine
Thursday, March 4, 2010
This one's for you Kristine.
Oh Christ, Kristine!! LOOK what you've done!! Are you reading this!!? I went back to read the beginning of my last two posts, and just imagining your narration, I sound no better than that BITCH "JustJanine" who took my insanely original alliterated blog name and just burned it to shambles with that tumble weed writing of hers.
;)
I loaaathe you Kristine. I'll forever (until next week when I'll have forgotten) loathe you for the self doubt you've instilled in me for all the terrible blog cliches I thought I was extempt from. But you know what!? I'm convinced it's unavoidable. It's a damn blog. And well... I really do write this for three great people back home. And... At least I don't... Do that Thing we talked about or that other Thing we laughed about.
Gotta be careful what I write here, ne?
Haha ok that's done. That's all Kristine. The rest doesn't concern you.
to the three people back home whom I cherish =)
(Yes. Yes. I just admitted three. And used the word "cherish")
to expand a bit on the last post. Nope, I'm definitely coming home for good in august or sept this year. Well... For good, as in, my contract ends here and I'll move back to LA until... Unknown.
I'm gonna come home next month just to bring back a lot of excess luggage I've got (ie: the rock band I brought last July), see Dylan --I really miss him!! =( -- see you guys! and maybe scope out jobs a bit?? Maybe check out school schedules??
I'm so bummed I'm missing coachella! But hopefully that means some good bands will still be passing through town afterwards that I can check out. Sigh, I'm ACHING for a good live show!!
Do you guys have any ideas? I might be home for 2 weeks now... Schedule keeps changing, but those are the generalized dates. And I'll be home for sure. Maybe try the trip to grand canyon? Rosarito? Is that too ambituous? (but the weekend in San Diego last summer was so fun!!) If you guys have the time off, let's do it!! =) rooad trip pleease!!
Nancy, are u still at murad? Tracy? You working right now? What's the future of Sarah looking like?
Miss you guys!
End note: after two weeks of rain and slush, it snowed a beautiful double digits of powder overnight! And so it's once again a beautiful soft white wonderland. yay! The days are couting down... =(
=)
j9
(I tried to sign it "just j9" but it hurts my soul too much)
;)
I loaaathe you Kristine. I'll forever (until next week when I'll have forgotten) loathe you for the self doubt you've instilled in me for all the terrible blog cliches I thought I was extempt from. But you know what!? I'm convinced it's unavoidable. It's a damn blog. And well... I really do write this for three great people back home. And... At least I don't... Do that Thing we talked about or that other Thing we laughed about.
Gotta be careful what I write here, ne?
Haha ok that's done. That's all Kristine. The rest doesn't concern you.
to the three people back home whom I cherish =)
(Yes. Yes. I just admitted three. And used the word "cherish")
to expand a bit on the last post. Nope, I'm definitely coming home for good in august or sept this year. Well... For good, as in, my contract ends here and I'll move back to LA until... Unknown.
I'm gonna come home next month just to bring back a lot of excess luggage I've got (ie: the rock band I brought last July), see Dylan --I really miss him!! =( -- see you guys! and maybe scope out jobs a bit?? Maybe check out school schedules??
I'm so bummed I'm missing coachella! But hopefully that means some good bands will still be passing through town afterwards that I can check out. Sigh, I'm ACHING for a good live show!!
Do you guys have any ideas? I might be home for 2 weeks now... Schedule keeps changing, but those are the generalized dates. And I'll be home for sure. Maybe try the trip to grand canyon? Rosarito? Is that too ambituous? (but the weekend in San Diego last summer was so fun!!) If you guys have the time off, let's do it!! =) rooad trip pleease!!
Nancy, are u still at murad? Tracy? You working right now? What's the future of Sarah looking like?
Miss you guys!
End note: after two weeks of rain and slush, it snowed a beautiful double digits of powder overnight! And so it's once again a beautiful soft white wonderland. yay! The days are couting down... =(
=)
j9
(I tried to sign it "just j9" but it hurts my soul too much)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Hey wow! Look! I can blog from my phone!
Ok, so it's definitely not the most ideal or convenient or pleasant way to update, but I've become weary of blogging at school now, in displeasant aggitation that my teachers read it. I'm sure they don't. I'm just experiencing a momentary "they're all out to get me!!!" phase that I'm sure will pass in due time. Anyway, first i wanna say, what a bummer I didn't get even one blog in for February. But in my defense, it was a whole month of elementary school visits and it was brutal. Well, less brutal than last may, because my Japanese has improved and that alone definitely makes the job and work environment more friendly and accessible, per se. so although February was exhausting, it had its own endearing charm as well.
That aside, most important note to share and the rest can come later--
I'm returning home again! For a visit. April 22- may 2. So... Start making plans around me, for me, and with me please! ;)
why you ask? When my contract ends in august? Well... Well no need to get into why's, but they're justifiable for sure. And I'm so excited. So let's be sure to meet and hang out!!
And this time they'll be no long pit stops in Taipei that cut my real vacation short, ne?!!
Final thought before I go...
Drinking margaritas before a Monday night Japanese lesson is a truely TERRIBLE idea. =p
but really... Not a smart move.
=)
<3
j9
That aside, most important note to share and the rest can come later--
I'm returning home again! For a visit. April 22- may 2. So... Start making plans around me, for me, and with me please! ;)
why you ask? When my contract ends in august? Well... Well no need to get into why's, but they're justifiable for sure. And I'm so excited. So let's be sure to meet and hang out!!
And this time they'll be no long pit stops in Taipei that cut my real vacation short, ne?!!
Final thought before I go...
Drinking margaritas before a Monday night Japanese lesson is a truely TERRIBLE idea. =p
but really... Not a smart move.
=)
<3
j9
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