Bangkok 2010 New Years

Bringing in the new decade with Bangkok was so much fun.
Got a fish massage in a mall - $3 for 20 minutes.
here's a video on youtube i found, to give you an idea of what it was like.
Fish Massage.

for the first 10 minutes i screamed and cried. like those girls on fear factor. =/
then when i finally had the nerve to look down at my feet - i turned and started crying again.
it's a lot of mind over matter. for me anyway. when i could finally get past it - it was quite an interesting sensation. like your feet are asleep. numb and tingly. it's really gross when they stick on a little longer once you pull your feet out.
it looks like they're gonna eat through your flesh to the bone! but i'm glad i did it. =)
always trying to conquer a fear or two when i can...
=)

and here's a video i found on youtube about the bats at khao yai national park (where we went hiking for a day and half). the video really doesn't do it justice. but it gives you an idea of the massive scope of the number of bats that fly out every night at sundown.
Bats!!

after the fish massage, we watched Avatar, no 3-D though. =( haha
it was entertaining. i liked it. i thought it was gonna be a little more epic. or...i dunno...well yea, it was good.

then we went out into the streets at Central World Plaza. pushed through crowds for like 30 minutes. settled in a corner for an hour. ran off determined to find whiskey with kristine at a 7-eleven. had success with flying colors. 10 minutes to countdown, we went back into the crowd. lost kristine for a bit cuz her and jesse fought FOREVER before the countdown ;)
but in the end, we all were together (jesse, kristine, maggie, dan, and krista) and it was loads of fun. similar to vegas. much better than times squares. confetti and fireworks. countdown in thai numbers. haha...that was a little confusing. but you get the hang of what number you're at when everyone around you gets louder and more frantic.
then we danced in the streets with thai lady boys for like 2 hours, which of course only felt like 10 minutes. =)
then back to the hotel.
then to a club at RCA street. where the $6 cover charge bought us a free $6 drink. and the admission allowed us into like 6 different indoor and outdoor clubs. but by the time we got there (3am ish) everything was dying down to when they shut us out at 4.
went to bed a little past 530am i think.
tis was a good night. =)
oh yea! and that creepy indian dude in the hotel lobby! haha, still....sooo inappropriate. ;) but a good laugh.

i'm really excited for 2010.
and i've got no regrets about 09. =)
thanks everyone again for making it another wonderful year.
cheeeeeeeeezy =P

off to siem riep tomorrow. sigh. more buses. more corrupt cops. more haggling. more mosquito bites. more heat. and sweat. caaaaan't wait!!

<3
janine

Bats and Spiders

2 million bats leaving a cave at the top of a mountain at dawn...is HANDS DOWN in my "top 5 things I've ever seen in my life" list.
Beautiful. I'll upload a video in a few days.

And spiders. Oh boy.
I don't have time to update and proper post...but just wanted to say hey.
and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I'm thankful for all the...greatness I experienced and the people I met this year. And the friendships I've formed and the friendships I've kept. Thank you! <3<3<3
Soooo cheesy. I know.
I'm just in a happy good mood.

We're waiting in a cafe on khao san road drinking whiskey and cokes out of BUCKETS...waiting for our overnight bus to ko-samui beaches down south.
Full moon party!!
ok maybe not. we'll miss it. but...I'm still expecting some fun relaxing crazy times on the beach.

as for the past few days...
rainforests. and gibbons and elephants chasing our pick up truck-- less than 10 feet behind with me nearly falling off the back in terror.
bats.
yellow hornbills
"A1" karaoke.
2 canadians.
spiders.
caves
scorpian spiders
dirty toilets
LOOOOOTS of amazing thai food. and shakes.
Archa and Chang Beer.
=)

<3
janine

Flight of the Gibbons

haha...that last post was weird. i know. i was just....having one of those days. ;)

anyhoo, we're in thailand!
Khao San Road, Bangkok to be exact. This is our third day here.
So far we've...(I've) seen the World's Largest Reclining Buddha (again). It's (still just as) impressive as ever. Failed attempts to go to the floating market. eating a LOT of pad thai and banana pancakes and coconut shakes made only with real coconut.
saw a real muay thai boxing match where a 90 lb 16 year old knocked out another 90 lb 16 year old. that was really wild. got it on tape too. the kid actually blacked out for like...30 seconds.
walked around the city a lot.
went zip lining today!!! what a rush! and not scary at all! to soar across the rainforest like that! It's so safe and easy -- anyone afraid of heights can do it. =)

tomorrow we head off to another rainforest to for 2 days/1 night. gonna go hiking. see some bats. i'm really scared for all the bugs. I've already got 3 pretty nasty bites on my ankles =(

then after that, we're off to ko-samui!! gonna miss the full moon party, but i still expect lots of fun times and relaxation to be had.
after that...phuket.
then bangkok for new years.
then...off to siem riep in cambodia! and then phenom penh.
that's our tentative itinerary for the next 2 weeks.

how about you guys? whatcha doing this holiday season?
happy christmas and merry new year btw! if i don't manage to log back on before then!!!!

<3
j9

Something's Coming Over Me...

I don't like it when I absentmindedly stare off into space and realize by the change in your expression or the movement of your eyes, ahead of me, like how a cat's full attention can be peaked just by the slight silly shimmer of something shiny in the distance, that I've actually been staring straight through you. for god knows how long. But you think I've been staring at you.
So then there's that split second of awkward.
...
So I advert my eyes but then when I advert back to make sure no social treaty has been breached, I see you're (now) still staring at me.
with that look.
...
That look.

sigh.
I find myself staring off into nothing a lot lately.
Dr, is this something to be concerned about? Will my eyes permanently glaze over without ever my knowledge of it? I feel like I'm close.
so close...
to the top of the wooooorld. looking down on creeeeation. and the only explanation I caaaan find. Is...
The Carpenters.
Brought to you by 40 adorable 12 year old Japanese kids.
sigh again

This is the doing of boredom. And not just plain old boredom. But the own boredom of too many thoughts. But then again...these thoughts. Aren't really boredom. Are they? They're for safety. and entertainment. and reassurance. A way for your brain to unrealistically cope with the realities around you, in no sensible manner to anyone but yourself. all so you don't pull out your hair...or...wiggle your arms in the air...or commit something else that's equally as brash.

well then.
that's out of the bag.
the cat. that cat. and the bag. and that. and that bag. all out.
there you have it.

So I got my recontract earlier this week. WHEW! Omg, that would have been the shame of the decade, if I didn't get it. But now that the "investigation" is over, I swear, it was like my supervisor was on *weed*, he was as high as a fly on a kite, handing me my recontract papers. When just 3 weeks ago, sitting at the same desk, in the same chairs, he was berating me like a 5 year old kid, while I'm in tears, threatening me that the board of education probably won't offer me a recontract cuz they can't trust me. Cuz I lost a $100 transportation card...that I, a week later, compensated for.
Sigh.
Japanese people.
Never know with them.

Also, I saw Up! and The Informant. LOVED the Informant. There were a few scenes in the middle where you felt like...ok...you were almost a superb movie, and then you had to go on and drag for 10 minutes too long. But other than that, loved it.
Up...some scenes were epically good. I cried AT LEAST 12 times in that movie. Yes I know, I cry at everything. It's not hard to make me cry. But...that just means...you pulled the right strings, I'm your demographic, you did a great job! Loved it! I felt the movie as a whole, lacked cohesiveness. So I wont say it's the best movie of the year. But there were definitely moments where it could redeem itself in the .... top 5 slot.

I leave for Thailand and Cambodia tomorrow. Scary. 3 weeks.
Scary cuz there are peanuts there!!
=P
And the few people who would get that reference...don't read my blog...
well...yup.
I'll miss you.
But I'll try to keep an update once a week.
<3
j9

Books I finished in the past month

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

• a 709-page (horror!!) book that Dan gave me a few years ago. I promised I'd read it for him. And to make sure I would...I brought the one-pound book with me to Japan when my weight limit at the time was only 20-pounds...=)
• wasn't really horror after all. but I put it off for 2 years cuz I thought it was.
• Anyhoo, so I finally managed to read it before he came to Tokyo. I created a regime each day, to finish enough pages so that I would be done with it before he arrived. It took me 6 weeks. I read it at my desk at school every morning. it became such a routine that when I finally finished, I felt this emptiness like...o no...what do I do now?
• I never felt the 709 pages was overwhelming. The book is so captivating, you're so eager to know what happens, all the time. Always trying to skip ahead and guess and anticipate and wonder. What an interesting way to combine genres and styles...and to create visual participation while in the act of reading. So unique and different! I mean, duh, I'm sure Danielewski isn't the first to do it...but it's the first time I've seen it. So I was quite entertained.
• it was a really great book. You're right dan. Thanks =)

The Giver by Lois Lowry

• it's such a tiny book, I decided to re-read it (read it in 7th grade. but didn't remember anything about it at all. Other than...it was supposed to be a good book. And the cover always reminded me of my dad. ha.) Summer left me the book when she moved back to the states in August...so I thought, why not read it since it's there.
• The day I brought it to school, all my classes were cancelled for the day, so I finished about 80% of it. At the end of the first day, I thought, wow, this is a really really good book. and INCREIBDLY poignant for someone living in Japan. But then by the end of the second day, when I finished it, I was like...Oh...this book is kind of crappy. How disspointing. But...I thought it'd still make for an interesting movie, and was surprised one hadn't been made before. Or at least not to my knowledge...so I imdb'd and low and behold, there isn't a movie. But apparently there WILL be...in 2010 or 2011. I forget.

The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

• just finished this last Friday. I started it before seeing the movie. Only got about 80 pages into it. After seeing the movie...I thought, eh, it's pointless to finish the book since I know the ending. But I remembered really enjoying Henry's narrative so I picked it up again and I'm really glad I did.
• The book made me cry three times. Like ACTUALLY cry at my desk with tears
  streaming down my face. that's never happened before.
• The middle I felt was a bit boring. I didn't care for the part where Clare and Henry lived in the present. I liked the times when Henry traveled. His love for Clare when she was younger and then older. Super sweet.
• Oh, everlasting love. sigh. haha

Next book...I don't have time to order Me Say Pretty Things by David Sedaris on amazon, before I leave for Thailand this Saturday (a book recommended by Dan). So I'll have to choose another book on my shelf for now. I've got a ton that I picked up from people who moved out last summer so it shouldn't be an issue.

Oh yea...I was gonna pick up (again) The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I started it in October and got maybe 1/3 way through. Then got bored with it. But it's such a short and easy read, I could probably finish that by the end of the week. I should. Since the movie is supposed to be good. It'd be nice to finish it before seeing the movie.

Last week's shenigans turned out to be a lot of fun. But of course, in the morning, following roy's bday party...I woke up with a WICKED black and red spotted bruise the size of a plum on my arm (along with one of the worst hangovers I've had in Sapporo - thanks a lot "16 proof IPA beer"). It doesn't look like someone grabbed me. And it doesn't look like a I fell on something...cuz it's sort of on the inside of the arm, and I don't know how a bruise like that could be managed in that fashion. So...it's a mystery to all of us. I can't remember. and neither can anyone else. haha...it was that fun of a night. Thought I lost a $100 too...but after the hoop-la of me in freight about it for 30 minutes (which was funny in itself too), I found out I had "cleverly" hid it from myself. haha. Not a good idea when drunk. Or well...maybe it was. ;)

And Sagara's xmas party was a lot of fun too. Sweet. Good to see her again.

Sunday...yup...I actually really did stay in the WHOLE day. and that was SO pleasant.

And...as for recontracting a third year:

the meeting today isn't to sign the contract yet. It's just to talk to our supervisor about our thoughts...if we're yes, no, or maybe. And any requests we have for the next school year (which starts/changes in March), like, do you want more or less elementary school visits (less!!)? Do you want to change base schools (yes!!)? Issues with coworkers (no...comment...)...living situation (no complaints!)...? etc etc

So regarding a third year --

A month ago I was 70/30 for staying a third year. Now I'm 80/20 for going home. I'll reevaulate my options after winter vacation. We have to officially decide by Jan 23.

Right now...I figure I'll live and work in LA for another year, while I adjust coming back to America. Hopefully there's a job or two to be had...if worst comes to worst, I can go to community college and pick up Spanish. As that's my next goal. And then I can sort together my things and go to grad school in 2011 to become a 1st grade teacher. =) Long road ahead...but I'm excited to the prospect of having my own teenies in a classroom someday...who speak my native language. Anyway, yea...I'm quite frightened about the culture shock I'll get when I come back, but I'm glad I'll have all you guys to help keep me grounded.　I'm really grateful for our friendships. =) Love you guys! I'm really looking foward to seeing everyone again. And going back to a life of...movies and road trips and live music and things. But of course, there's a lot I'll miss here too. Such a hard decision. But the transition must be made eventually and fear is no reason to put it off longer than needs be.

so we'll see...I'll get back to you about that next year! well...but maybe I'll write about how the meeting goes today. Cross fingers it pans out smoothly. As there's always the chance I won't even be offered a third year. Cuz this is also the time where our supervisor can say...actually, you're a terrible employee for the city and we don't want to offer you a recontract. It's so rare. There's only been an incidence of that happening (so the legend says...) once in the past like 10 years. We call him "Bad Andy". He yelled and threatened his kids on a daily basis. So...I'm not in the same ball park as him. But you never know with Japanese people...

whew...owarimashta!

I'm hungry.

=)

-j9

Until I'm inspired...

I'll relate my happenings for the week. Better than nothing, ne?

Monday I saw Inglorious Basterds. I really enjoyed it. I don't know what it was...whether it was the movie itself, or the particular ambiance of the night in that theater, but it felt like i was watching a movie back home, for once, and it felt really nice. My only qualm with the movie was a few of QT's music choices - I felt a few important moments' music choices were random and didn't progress or support the scene it was matched with - but only a minor criticism. I really enjoyed the monologues this time around. A few of QT's films in the past, I'll doze off half way through some epiphany a character feels the need to ramble about for 15 minutes - I know this is what QT is known for or good at...and whether this effect is intentional or not...it's, you know,...tiresome sometimes. But I didn't really get that this time around. Maybe the movie was so suspenseful, or I've been so deprived for anything for awhile...that the monologues seemed great and smooth and captivating. So yea...enjoyable movie. =)


Tues....went home early. Tuesdays I'm always tired. Cuz I have a long weekend of sleeping and then a looong, busy Monday.
Oh Tuesday was bad cuz I had my Japanese lesson, and for whatever reason, I felt completely defeated from the start, so it tainted the whole hour....and through it all, I felt like an idiot for not being able to wrap my head around anything. ANYTHING. ugh. stupid Japanese. ... I'm still thinking in Chinese when I'm not supposed to...and I never know how to turn it off. sigh, I dunno. Don't like feeling defeated like that. And Japanese has that effect on me. So i got home, exhausted...ate ice cream by myself...late at night...which i haven't done in AGES...I felt like...isn't this what people do? Eat ice cream in front of the TV when they're sad? It didn't really work for me. I just felt more useless. haha.
Caught up on Mad Men. Really good episode! Season 3, episode...6?? Then went to bed early.

Yesterday...had the guys over for Rock Band. We played a little of Beatles Rock Band but Andy wasn't having it, so we switched back to the OG. Played for over 4 hours. The boys got drunk, as usual. I didn't. It was fun. While playing hostess I also managed to cook my lunch for the next day. (I decided to go off the school lunch this month -- try it out. Seeing as how they charge me an arm and a leg for it anyway. It's going alright. I could go either way really. The stress of remembering to buy something the day before, is almost just the same as just eating a crappy bowl of rice that's waiting for me when i come back from class). Anyway, I always feel really accomplished when I cook a hearty meal. And I always surprise myself when it turns out good. =) Wish I had more people to cook for. Or...less laziness to invite people over to cook for.

Today (didn't go to happy hour with Jesse and Falk)...instead, hung out at the bookstore for an hour reading up on world news - Time and Entertainment Weekly and Intouch. I miss magazines. And something about bookstores...the reading and the quiet. Really relaxing. I try to find time to read at the bookstore every 2 weeks or so. After, I grabbed a soup curry dinner with Sara. Then we saw 2012. It was all I expected and more. Fantastic forget-about-your-worries fun. I LOVE disaster movies. So it couldn't really dissapoint me in any shape or form. My favorite line -- the President's advisor tells the President (played by Danny Glover..yess) that a huge wave is coming and the world will end in an hour so they HAVE to get on the plane and fly to China PRONTO. To which the President replies... "well MAKE TIME!" =)

Tomorrow is Roy's bday. We'll be at the beer hall and then some karaoke.

Saturday night is the annual christmas party my previous Japanese teacher throws every year. Hence...it's...annual. I told Jonna Lynn to tell Sagara-sensei I'd be coming back next year...cuz I'm not sure how well I'm working with this new teacher I've got right now...and so Sagara-sensei invited me to the party. She's super sweet. This is the same 50-60 something Japanese woman who really seems like she's 30 with a new hip hairstyle every week that totally outshines anything I could ever have done on myself. The same one who dressed me up in a Kimono too. I love her. Really I do. So it'll be good to see her again. So that xmas party will be another night of karaoke along with the usual all you can eat/drink fair. This is the same one I went to last year where I won that silly black pillow and yellow wand from a raffle (Dan). ;)
Raffle and bingo are so much fun!

Sunday....a day to sleep in. yessss. I've decided I don't want to do anything. and I'm very pleased about it.

Monday -- another xmas party. All you can drink/eat Italian with my community Japanese lesson. That should be sweet. (there's this place in town that offers $2 90 minute japanese lessons once a week. It's just local volunteers who put in their time once a week for foreigners interested in learning japanese. It's a great class. And the teacher there is super sweet too.)

Alright there you go. A play by play of my week.
Hm...there may be some incoherency....somewhere among the ramblings?...but I'll leave as is.

Oh...jeez...Monday too, I've got my meeting with my supervisor about recontracting for a third year. Oh boy...that's drama that we'll save for another day.

What's new with you?? =)

cheers,
j9

I'm back! I'm back! Promise.

FOUR months!!! wow.
but I'm back. And I'm gonna be good about keeping a blog again. I'm so thankful you guys pushed me last year, cuz I look back at my entries, and I really cherish them.
So...well, I'll get down to business.
Today is the first day the snow is finally sticking. 2 days ago we had a CRAZY hurricane of winds and rain that kept me bottled up inside my apartment for most of the day. which has been fine (a recurring happenance for the past few weekends). Sleep and TV is keeping me relaxed, pleasant, and grounded. I started Mad Men a few weeks ago and I'm just about caught up with all of Season 3. AMAZING show. subtle. and you can't quite place why it's so good. but it is. Other shows I'm obsessed with at the moment...Glee. Of course. OMG. Glee is like television magic at the height of orgasm for 46 minutes a week. O my.
Hm...TV and weather, that's boring.

Last week I was in Tokyo for the second time. Went to Tokyo for Halloween and that was pretty wild and fun. Stayed up til 7am, drunk off my arse....politely yelled at a security guard in a convenient store asking why there was no more alcohol left (all with a giggle and a smile of course)...he wasn't having it though you could tell he was slightly amused...to which I proceeded to rip into a bag of kit kats with my teeth. Maggie was a good enough gal to step in and offer to pay for the damaged merchandise while the others hauled me outside. That was fun. We ended the night/morning with a 4 hour stay in a "love hotel" on Love Hotel Hill in Shibuya. We wore our costumes all day. That was super fun. Jesse almost got arrested. That was super hilarious. I'll get a picture of Jesse's costume up here...cuz it was pure epic. Also made a visit to Disney Sea -- what's Disney Sea you ask? Is it an aquarium? Nope...though this confused me for several several months, during the beginning of my stay in Japan. Disney Sea is an equivalent to California Adventures I'd say. It's a newer park (built near the sea, hence the origin of its name), and while some areas are cute and some rides are fun, they're new and not nostalgic and in the end you just kind of feel cheated of a disney experience because you didnt get pirates or its a small world or space mountain. Though you do get "journey into the center of the earth"...
Although visiting Disneyland in another country (especially, in this case, duh, Japan) was super exciting just to experience and observe the culture differences that can transcend an internationally recognized commodity that stays quite linear all across borders. Hm...does that make sense? Anyway, the most obvious and most interesting observations while there was the complete absence of food in the park. In America, where full faith lies in capitalism and trying to make as much money where opportunity seems fit...it's an incredibly different case in Japan. In america, if there's a line for a ride to be had, then there's 6 food carts, 4 souvenier shops and 3 McD stands within a 15 foot radius. But in japan...I'd say...there are a total of 8 food carts in the whole park (that includes anything from popcorn or a meat bun)...and the lines for food is actually longer than the line for a ride! People will wait an hour in line for a hot dog, whereas 10 feet away, the line for Ariel's adventure is only 30 minutes. Crazy. And of course, where are all the restaurants located (the few that exist?) -- America Town. haha. If you ever make it to Tokyo Sea, I definitely recommend "Teddy Roosevelt's Bar" on the Queen Mary-esque ship at the end of America Town. well good times. Except I was underdressed....so i got a bit grumpy as the day progressed, cuz it was far colder than I anticipated - but still many joys were had.
Ok, so anyway...moving on...so yea, then I went back to Tokyo for 8 days this past week, cuz Dan came to visit. =)
It was wonderful and happy and blissfully amazing.
Got a chance to go to the fish market - WOW! so cool. blood and golf cart things and tuna the size of a conference table. We had a $35 8-piece set sushi meal at 8am as well...and...I can understand now why people would pay $300 for a sushi meal in LA. I mean...this is the stuff. Melt in your mouth decadence. Yuuuummm. Everything but that darn squid. Even $100 squid isn't good in my opinion. I had to grip Dan's arm to prevent from gagging for the whole 5 minutes it took me to swallow that darn thing.
We saw a kabuki show (only an hour of the original 6 hour show) -- really cool. and really long and really nothing happening at all. but just to see the costumes and the precise structure and cermony to EVERYTHING was really amazing.
We walked around a lot, which was really nice. We met some cool japanese waiters. Peacoats and chocolate macaroons and little girls in kimonos and vending machines. =)
a trip always to be remembered.

So, already, of course, I'm onto planning the next trip. And it's....Thailand! Again...
...
=/
Normally I dont have (much, if any) qualms about visiting a country twice. but over the past few years, I feel i've become South-east Asiaed out (I'm very fortunate to be able to say that, I know). So I'm hesitant about this next xmas/new years vacation...but I know once I'm there, and while I'm in it, it's gonna be a wild fun time. We're also stopping in Cambodia for a week. So at least I get that.
No, I'm excited. Really...I am.
This trip will be different than the last...Kristine is planning a lot of jungle adventure trekking stuff - which will include a zip line at some point --> really cool!
And we'll be on the beach for New years -- it's between (the world famous?) Moon Party or a beach party in Phuket. Basically...a frat spring break party where everyone is high on drugs and drinks beer from a bucket (hmm...) or a slightly milder version of that in Phuket. I'm opting for the second choice...as...contrary to my initial excitement over an experience of "cancun-like spring break" proportians, my better more practical self has been telling me that being raped while on E cuz it was slipped in my sand-coated beer wouldn't be the most enjoyable of experiences to remember in the morning.
Why am I going to Thailand again? Cuz over the years I've learned that traveling is only enjoyable when you can share it with people you care about and have fun with...doesn't matter if you're looking at some temple 5000 years old, or some clear blue sea only seen in exotic movies...it's no fun if you can't enjoy it in the company of good friends. Jesse wants to go to Thailand, so I shall follow. Seeing as how Ryan went home and is now in Chicago (congratulations again!!! Still can't believe it! and can't wait to visit you!)...that voids the option of going to china again. And...other friends are going home for the holidays. or thailand.
ha, so thailand it is.

and uh...well...I'd say this is a hefty enough update for now.
I'm gonna try to do this every few days again. Seeing as how typing on the computer (not on my iphone - which is getting old and tiring) while staring out the window at the beautiful snow, makes these long (sometimes) unbearable days at school much easier.

despite the happenings going on around me...the good and the bad...I can say I'm quite happy. Because I've still got good people in my life.
=)
<3
-j9