Saturday, August 18, 2007

   We think a flower on a cliff is beautiful because we stop our feet at the cliff's edge, unable to step out into the sky like that fearless flower. - Bleach vol.12: Flower on the Precipice

Kon nichi wa minna-san! Ahh...well, I haven't updated in a while so let me think of what has been going on. I'm definitely calling NTT for my own internet service tomorrow so I will be more reliable soon! I tried to do it from the office both Thursday and Friday, but there was never really a good time. I am off work until the 29th though so I will have plenty of time to take care of things. Then I get to visit my school on the 30th and start teaching on the 3rd. It's all happening so fast! I think I'll be ready though. It seems like they really want us to speak only English with the students to make them practice using it. Apparently they're pretty competent at reading and writing but don't get much practice at speaking and listening. They even said we should speak to the teachers in English unless they invite us to practice our Japanese. It's a little weird to me, but I guess the job really is teaching English so our own learning comes second. On Wednesday we took a tour of a Japanese Jr. High school. There was no central air conditioning, which is common here, so it was really hot except in the staffroom. We did get to see that and were told we would get a desk in our own school, as well as a locker. There is a tiny kitchen in the staffroom and a really tiny locker room with curtains to divide men and women. I don't know how I feel about that...but they're full size lockers! I've never had one of those in my life, and I always had to share with someone before! We're allowed to use the kitchen for whatever we need, and there's also a little "rest area" which is really just a couple of couches and a coffee table, but that's no big deal. Actually I'm skeptical as to whether or not my first school will have all these things since it's so small. Anyway, when we got there we were served freshly made Shiso juice, which is a kind of super concentrated plum. I really like it, but not everyone does. Poor Lauren kept trying to tell them she didn't it and they kept giving her more! Then we walked around the school and saw the classrooms, gym, copy room, etc. Of course none of us had brought our indoor shoes so we had to wear the school slippers, which was a bit dangerous since they were very slick on the bottom and several people nearly fell down the stairs. They also have separate shoes for the gym and you can't wear your indoor school shoes there either! After that we got to practice our self introduction lessons in a classroom with all the other ALTs being our students. I went first to get it over with and they said it was good, but I talk too fast. I have to remember that little Japanese children don't understand me... Thursday and Friday were kind of boring since orientation was over. We were mostly just sitting around the office trying to finish our materials. But....*singsong voice* I saw the Shippuden movie! I saw the Shippuden movie! (that's the second series of Naruto for you non-otaku out there) Stacey was nice enough to go with me since we had a half day Friday. Miki-san kept saying, "It's just in Japanese..." like that would make me not want to go or something. It's perfectly easy to understand what's happening. OK, so we missed the finer points like why the villain was doing what he was doing, and what funny remark Naruto made at the end, but still...we got the gist of it. It's a shonen movie, I mean, come on, you just watch it for the cool fighting scenes after all! We saw a preview for the second Bleach movie too, it appears to be about Hitsugaya getting kidnapped or something, but it won't come out until December. Yesterday was the first rainy day we've had here so I couldn't go out with everyone. We had a girls night at a restaurant on Thursday, but there wasn't much I could eat. Yesterday was more of a clubbing night, but being the one that lives the farthest out from the train lines I would have had to bike in the rain for about 15 minutes and it just wasn't worth it. Today the weather is very nice though, and I wish my neighbor would come out on the balcony so I could say "Tenki wa ii, desu ne?" (The weather's nice, isn't it?) to him or her since we're both doing laundry, but oh well....I wouldn't be able to continue the conversation much beyond that anyway. After this I'll probably go get some groceries and stamps and then see what else I can find around here. We've all decided not to do any traveling this week so we can save money, but maybe something interesting will come along...

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Tuesday, August 14, 2007

   People must know their own abilities and use them well to find happiness in their lives. - Guilbert Dullindal, Gundam Seed Destiny

Ahhh...I'm really tired and I really didn't want to make this post tonight, but the internet is holding up nicely for now so I guess I'd better get on with it. It's nearly midnight already so I'll have to keep it short. Yesterday and today we have been hearing about exactly how they do things in the junior high schools here in Shizuoka City and getting some demonstrations and lesson ideas. Tomorrow we are going to visit a school and practice doing our own self introduction lesson on the other ALTs. We had to plan a lesson this afternoon too, but not actually teach it and everyone said mine was good. Personally, I thought it sucked, but whatever. After tomorrow we have 5 days of "kakikyu" or refresh days that we have to take off sometime this month so I'll be able to explore around a bit more and finish organizing/decorating my apartment. Tonight we (me, Stacey, Lauren, Shirley, Jasmine, and Holly) went to the O-bon Matsuri. That's the Festival of the Dead for those of you who don't know Japanese holidays. It can be any time in the late summer really and is held at Buddhist temples. There is one right behind Stacey and Lauren's apartment building so we could just walk there. There were lanterns lining all the walkways and rows and rows of them in front of the temple to represent soldiers who died in WWII from our area. When you first walk up to the temple you cross a little bridge, then you're supposed to go to the water stand/hut thing and wash your hands. Not wash like with soap and running water, but scoop some really cold water from the center of the wooden structure with this long stick (ahh....I really need to learn the names of these things!) and pour it over each hand. Then you walk up to the temple itself, throw a coin into the slotted box (Y5 andY50 are lucky b/c they have holes in the middle so you're supposed to use one of those) and then bow twice, clap twice, bow again and pray for something. Then you can go down and watch the little fireworks display and the dancing and taiko drums and eat. You can even join in the dancing if you want b/c there is a small circle of dancers on a stage, and a much larger circle going around the stage. It looked pretty easy, but I didn't do it. Stacey and Shirley did though and we took lots of pictures. I got some more takoyaki, and some gyoza with anko (sweet red bean paste) inside and a strawberry sno cone (I need to learn the name for those too...) and it was all really good! We stayed for maybe 2 hours and then walked back to the apartments. Shirley and I had to bike home after which was kind of a pain since it's about a 20min ride, but it's good for me to exercise like that every day. Tomorrow the 6 of us are going out to eat with Miki-san and Nana-chan so that will be fun too. Oh, and Miki-san said she would look up where and when the Naruto Shippuden movie was playing for me! I can't wait to see it!!

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Sunday, August 12, 2007

   People only live by their own strength. People only grow by their own strength. - Ikari Gendo, Evangelion

Hmmm.....I hope I'm not posting too often since there weren't any comments on the last one....I guess I should take comfort in the fact that I know a lot of the readers are non-members so they can't comment. Anyway, I'm justifying my being here and not out at a DJ dance party on the beach today by the fact that the other girl from Gainesville who came to Shizuoka a few years ago said it's really important to keep a journal so you can look back and laugh at all the crazy stuff you did. Also, I really shouldn't be getting that much sun. So let's see....I've spent most of this weekend exploring around the city on my own. I have to find my way places without someone showing me or else I'll never remember! It has been a lot of fun though b/c I've seen and done a lot that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. Saturday I got up and washed my clothes and then hung them on the balcony just like all the cute little Japanese people do. It was so funny to look down the building and see everyone else's stuff out too! After that I walked to Yamada Denki to buy a hair dryer and wander around all the different floors. They have a pretty big anime section, but I think it's a bit pricey. Anyway, I have to wait till I get a DVD player to buy any so that's at least after my first paycheck. I did get a model kit though b/c it was only Y1600, which is pretty cheap considering we'd pay about twice that to get them in the US. It's the Deathscythe Hell Custom from Gundam Wing. I'll try to put up pics when it's built. I know at least Darke-oniichan will be interested. Anyway, after that I kept walking straight down the road I live on and found this cute little shop called "a-too" that has all kinds of old/new/used anime, manga, magazines, doujinshi, toys, cards and other cool stuff. It was really tiny and packed full of stuff and really cheap too. Outside there are like 12 capsule machines and 5 or 6 card machines too! I know somewhere in town there is a Bandai hobby shop that I'm going to have to visit after I get paid too, but I'm not quite sure how to get there yet. We passed it on the train to work on Thursday but I hadn't figured out where things were at that point soo....it can wait. When I got home Lauren came to pick me up and we biked to her apartment to meet all the other girls and go shopping. That didn't exactly turn out as planned though b/c after one store (Spopia - the sports store) Jasmine and Holly were hungry and Shirley was thinking of meeting up with some AJET people. Then Mark called and Stacey remembered the biggest firworks display in the entire prefecture was that night about 40min away by train! She and I decided we absolutely had to go to that so we said bye to everyone else (but not before getting one of Emron's homemade chocolate truffles!) and set off on our adventure. I really wish I had installed my camera software now b/c those fireworks....wow....all I can say is ...just...wow. We were sooooo glad we went there instead of out to yet another expensive izakaya and then drinking/singing with people we hardly know. It was great right from the beginning. We weren't sure about which tickets to buy and the nice little station attendant told us that even though the display is in Fukanoi it's better to get off at Aino (1 stop before that and Y100 cheaper) and to go ahead and get round trip train tickets so we wouldn't have to get return tickets later that night (also Y100 off!). We were a little late for the start of the festival but it was ok b/c the fireworks went on for 2 hours! I've never seen anything like it at home. We took so many videos and pictures! When we got off the train we just followed all the people in yukata for a couple of blocks and then there were food stalls and games and people with little kids everywhere! We got some takoyaki and andagi to share and they were sooo good. People were sitting on the sidewalks, but we walked all the way down the street and through the rice paddies where more people were sitting on the paths and right up to the top of the levy with the most adventurous Japanese people so we had a great view. Even with all that walking we still stood there for at least an hour. Then when it was over everyone walked back down to the station all neat and orderly like. It was amazing! (Actually there was this one girl behind us who kept saying "sugoi! sugoi!" over and over, it was really cute!) We got a shaved ice on the way back up and you could put three different flavors on it. It was the perfect thing to end a hot night. I think some people were worried that we went off on our own like that, but it was fine. We only had to call Lauren when we got back to ask how to get from the big train station to the little one for Stacey to get home and I pretty much knew the way back on my bike since I live really close to the stations. I did stop once at a Lawson (convenie) to ask "Sumimasen, Minami Kansen wa, doko desu ka?" Minami Kansen is the big street that I live on so I was asking where it was, and the counter attendant pointed the way I had been going and said it was "hyaku metre" (100 meters more) so I had been right all along. Today I explored all the shops in the JR station and the local train station and went to the drug store and grocery store. I got an apron, food, and some other important stuff. I also went to the foreign food store in the station to get oranges and tea to give as gifts to the important people we're going to meet tomorrow. I found the "hyaku-en" (Y100) store which is waaaayy better than our dollar store and got a cute Stitch lunchbag and some Hello Kitty ziploc boxes. Also, in the JR station there's this giant mall with lots of clothes stores that I expect are ridiculously expensive, but it was nice to look at them. The very bottom floor is all food places like a belgian waffle shop, chocolate places, and even a Cold Stone! The line at that place was insane! All these Japanese people wanting to eat American ice cream! There was a very good Japanese bakery down there as well though so that's where I had lunch. Now I've got to iron my clothes (bleh...) and take a shower and wrap up those presnts so I can get up an be on time to work tomorrow! Ja ne! [EDIT] One more thing I forgot...this weekend it was a mini festival in Shizuoka and while I was downtown this afternoon I saw a place where there were some street performances. The coolest thing I saw was these 4 guys doing a choreographed set of tricks with basketballs. They were all dressed the same, but with different thuggish basketball accessories. It was so funny! They were really good at what they did though. It was kind of like dancing to Japanese rap and spinning the basketballs and rolling them around on their bodies at the same time. Totally crazy!

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Friday, August 10, 2007

   That is that. Whether you understand it or don't understand...whether you accept it or not...what is, is. That's all there is to it. - Yuuko, xxxHolic

Well, the connection in this place is holding up better than I thought it would so I can make a more leisurely post this morning. When you read this think about what time it was at your house when I was writing it. It's 10:50am on Saturday here right now, which means for most of you it's sometime Friday night! I'm living in the future..... I'm washing clothes right now and thinking about unpacking the last of my stuff. Yesterday was really tiring so I slept in today. I'm invited to do 3 different things today, but I kind of want to wander about on my own a bit and get my bearings. I'm almost definitely not going to the AJET enkai b/c I don't have much cash left and my ATM card won't come for at least a few more days. Some of the girls are taking Stacey, Holly and Jasmine shopping so I might go along for that just to see some shops, but I'm worried about spending on that trip too so.....I don't know. The thing I'm most interested in is going to the park with Mark and his wife to play with the giant bubble blowing thing he's got. Yesterday was less fun than it was supposed to be due to the ridiculous amount of time it took for Stacey and me to get our keitai. I ended up being the only new person (actually, the only ALT I think...) to go with the company "au" because they had a Sony Ericson phone that I really liked. Mark is the only other person in our office who is on it. Everyone else has something called SoftBank basically because it allows free calling between members. Their phones were really expensive though and mine was only Y4590 (around $35) for the brand new model! Plus I got all kinds of discounts on my plan b/c the lady at the shop was really, really nice. I also got a free 1GB memory card to put music and things on (my keitai is also a music player) and at the end of it all she gave me, Mark, and Jess tokens for the juice machine! Wow...ok, I just got really distracted sending Mark a text. There are so many cute things to use on my keitai! Ahh...I love technology! I found a way to download tetris to my keitai as well for only Y210 (around $1.50) but for some reason at the last minute it wouldn't let me do it. I'm sure someone can figure it out for me though. It seems like everyone here has games on their phones and/or a Nintendo DS that they carry around all the time. I want one, but I don't really have the money for that yet. It's going to be hard saving money, traveling, and buying cool stuff all at once. I plan to send some to my FL bank account as soon as I get paid every month though so hopefully that will help. And...I've lost my train of thought. Posting a list is a lot more efficient. OK, so yesterday after "The Great SoftBank Affair" as it has been dubbed and my fun time at au, we went down to the DD Building (or something like that....) and signed up for Japanese courses. Jasmine and I will be in the same class so that's good. Stacey already knows some kanji so she's taking the second level and Holly knows a lot so she's not taking anything. I feel so illiterate! Ah, but it's ok, I'm getting along fine. The most important thing is being able to pay for things like food and bills and they use arabic numerals so I can read the amounts just fine. We had lunch at this cute little place called Shizuoka News Deli where for Y950 you can get salad, crispy fries, a drink, and 3 different fresh made items. I got a cream cheese and salmon sashimi salad with onions, a cucumber and bell pepper salad, and a pumpkin casserole. It was all soooo good, and nice small portions so you don't feel too full. We also went to get Stacey signed up for her driver's test since her predecessor left her a moped to ride. I just have 2 bikes, but it's ok, I don't think I'd like to drive around here just yet. Maybe next year or something. Anyway, biking is good exercise. Amazingly, even in Japan the DMV is dirty and the lights are all funny. It was almost familiar. Last night we had the office welcome party for 2 hours at this place that didn't look anything like a restaurant. The room was almost like a lobby with tables set up, and everyone wore outside shoes in it. We can wear them in our office too which kind of surprised me on Thursday, but it makes things easier since I only brought the one inside pair for school and my slippers for home. Actually, Jess said I could wear shoes in my apartment, but I don't really want to. Anyway, last night was a bit expensive (Y5000 - around $45, that's more than my phone cost!) and there wasn't a lot of food, but it was still pretty fun. When we signed in we had to choose a little post-it to find out where we would sit. There were hearts....and three other things that I didn't notice, but they were for the 4 different tables. Then each one had some kind of stamp on it to determine your seat. Mine had 2 little ants, and Stacey's had 3 ladybugs, but somehow we ended up next to each other and at the same table with Mark and Lauren so that was lucky. I was next to an older man named Haruyoshi....something, but he said to just call him Haru. He was really funny, but my Japanese is not so good some some of the time he was asking me things and I had to get Lauren to help out. The 4 of us that are new had to stand up and introduce ourselves in Japanese and it went pretty well. One guy even stood up and clapped when I said I was a vegeterian. Actually, that was kind of weird, but whatever. Everyone seemed to get really drunk really fast (except Lauren and me) and then they played guessing games that I didn't understand a word of, but seemed to include questions like "How many telephones are in our office?" Then they did a quiz about the 4 of us and we had to stand in front again and answer. Mine took the longest for them to guess b/c it was "What is your favorite vegetable?" and I don't think zucchini is very common in Japan. It was funny though. It lasted for 2 hours and at the end everyone got a "present" which was obviously from the hyaku-en (Y100) store, but mostly cute stuff anyway. I got a long phone strap with Dorami (the little yellow girl cat from Doraemon) on it. After the enkai some of the ALTs were going out to a little festival at the Center downtown, but I was really tired so I got Jess to show me the way home, and....now I'm looking at my clothes drying on the line. It's a bit nostalgic really. I can remember being 5ish and painting pictures in my backyard while my mom hung clothes on the line before we had a dryer. My apartment is on the top floor of our building (6th) and I looked down and saw a lot of people had put their laundry out this morning since it was so sunny. It's cute to see it all hanging like that. Anyway, it's nearly noon now so I guess I should get ready to go out. Ja ne! (and sorry for the long post!)

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Thursday, August 9, 2007

   The arms of those you know...traces of those you love...you pass them up...to catch that hightest star. - Immortal Rain

Whew! well, I have arrived at my apartment at last! I may not be able to update for a while after this so don't be alarmed. The wireless signal I'm getting is not that strong (nor does it belong to me, sooo....) but hopefully it will last for tonight at least. Yesterday it was impossible to connect. I'm finally having a quiet night alone. The first time I was by myself the entire time I have been in Japan was last night after midnight! Before I give the next rundown (since that seems to be all I can manage to post) let me just say I'm very sorry for not visiting, commenting, emailing, iChating, etc. to everyone. I miss you guys all so much, but it's crazy busy right now. Things should calm down for a while after next week though and I can do some serious work around the internet. So, without further ado... Tuesday night: -Stacey and I met Mark and Miki-san from our office and went over info we would need -the 4 of us went out to this random izakaya for a couple of hours and ate a ton! (all Japanese people seem to do is eat) -walked around Shinjuku by myself for a bit but didn't buy anything other than a Kiwi KitKat that I haven't eaten yet Wednesday: -met up with Stacey, Mark, and Miki-san @ 9am -took a short train to Tokyo station and then the Shinkansen to Shizuoka -met Morishima-san, Lauren, Jess, and Nana-chan at the station, then split up -went with Miki-san, Jess, and Nana-chan to apply for my gaijin card, have lunch, see my apartment, and go shopping -bought sheets, towels, an alarm clock, and some groceries and cleaning supplies -managed to overflow the coffee maker in the 20 minutes I was alone -met Holly and Jasmine, the other 2 new girls -ate at yet another izakaya with some of the other ALTs and people from the office -went to karaoke with Mark, Nana-chan, Jess, and a few others Thursday: -went to the office and met some of the important people -sat around for a few hours -filled out paperwork -opened a bank account -ate lunch at the "Dream Plaza" -found out about the schools I'll be going to (Ohkawa and Minami) -got my inkan (seal) which says Katy in katakana -went to Starbucks with Jess and met another ALT who is in a different office, but forgot his name -nearly wrecked my bike about 10 times Friday: -we get to meet up a bit later than we would have to be at the office normally -we're going on a tour of Shizuoka and Stacey and I can finally get our keitai (cell phones) -another enkai (welcome party) with more office people Saturday: -going shopping with Shirley (one of the older ALTs who's really cool -yet another enaki with the AJET people (all the ALTs around here) Sunday: -maybe going to an onsen?? Sooo....when I get my time off in a couple of weeks I'll be able to organize better and put up pics I hope. I would like to mention though for explanation purposes that Jess is my downstairs neighbor and he's been here 2 years already. Also, both Miki-san and Nana-chan are super kawaii and I love them! Nana-chan gave me a limited edition Shizuoka version Hello Kitty mechanical pencil which was really cool. Anyway, I hope everyone is well, and I'll try to check my email if this holds up and maybe even look into calling when I get my keitai. Ja ne!

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Tuesday, August 7, 2007

   Every day is mythology when you use your X-ray vision to really, really LOOK. - Shelley, Seven Soldiers

Wow...I'm tired today. I'm going to try and list all the things that have happened again b/c tonight I have to pack up all my stuff to get ready to go to Shizuoka-shi in the morning. So... Monday: -breakfast at 8:30 -met the other girl going to Shizuoka City (Stacey) and all the people going to the prefecture -sat through some workshops -went to Harajuku with Josh and Renate from Gainesville -had a really good vegetarian lunch -went to an Izakaya with all the Shizuoka and Aichi prefecture people -went to a club (message me for details not for the young!) Tuesday: -almost missed breakfast -saw a demo class of what teaching English in a Japanese junior high is like -another vegetarian lunch! (they're really taking care of us) -chatted to Beth on AIM -getting ready to go to more workshops this afternoon -will get to meet some of my supervisors (I think...) So, I guess that's it for now. Hopefully someday I'll be able to write paragraphs again. I feel bad, I'm an English teacher who uses very poor sentence structure! Oh well...ja ne!

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Sunday, August 5, 2007

   Today was great, tomorrow will be better! - George, Blood+

Well, I have safely arrived in Tokyo and am now at the Keio Plaza Hotel! Whew! It was a really long trip. There is a lot I want to say about the past 2 days, but there is a lot I need to do before orientation starts tomorrow so let me just give a quick rundown: Thursday: -finished packing -cleaned out my apartment -gave away my dog -sold my car -drove to Kissimee with my dad Friday: -drove to Miami -went to orientation and dinner at the consulate's mansion in Coral Gables -went to Publix to weigh my suitcases -unpacked and repacked things to make sure they'd be allowed on the plane Saturday: -went to the Miami airport at 5:30am -checked in in 10 minutes then sat around for an hour and a half -changed some dollars into yen -left Miami at 8:45 and flew to D.C. -changed more money -left at 1:30pm from D.C. to fly directly here Sat/Sun (on the plane) -watched Shrek 3 -ate 3 different vegeterian lunches -flew over Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, then the International Date Line -slept a couple hours -read a ton of manga that was on my laptop -listened to my iPod -did crossword puzzles with my friend Jessie Sunday: -arrived in Tokyo around 4pm -waited in a long imigration line -lost a bet to Jessie on how long the line would take -sent half my luggage on a truck to my apartment -took a 2 hour bus ride to the hotel -went out to eat ice cream at a convenience store -looked for the statue of Hachiko around Shinjuku Station but couldn't find it -bought a Code Geass cellphone charm from a gashapon machine for 200 yen Still to do: -plan what workshops to go to tomorrow -hmmm...actually, that's it for tonight Whew! It's not as bad as I thought. Sorry if you don't know what a lot of this is about, I just wanted to make a list so I would remember to tell the funny stories about it when I get to my apartment and have time. Ja ne! [EDIT] Oops! I just noticed that I never took the counter out of my intro and now it thinks I'm leaving for Japan next year! I'll take care of that as soon as I can!

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Friday, August 3, 2007

   Leaving on a jet plane....

....haha, I know that is really cliched, but...it's true! This is just a quick post to tell everyone I'm heading for Japan in less than 12 hours. I should be at the Keio Plaza hotel on Sunday night around 7pm Japan time. Don't be alarmed if I don't post for a week or so, but I'll try to update when I get there to let everyone know that I am safe.

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Sunday, July 15, 2007

   Even if a wave does come...if you're too scared to catch it...it may as wel not even come. - Renton Thurston, Eureaka 7

Well, I figured it was about time I make a proper post for once. This might be my last before I get ready to go to Japan so I'll try to make it as informative as possible. First of all, thanks to everyone who is still sticking by me and visiting when they can. I really appreciate it! *hugs* So....what have I been up to lately? Well....mostly I'm busy working still. I have 2 more weeks of summer camp to teach at the preschool, then one week of packing, cleaning, tying up loose ends, etc. before I leave town on August 3rd. I'm flying out of Miami on the 4th with about 30 other people at 8:45 in the morning. After time changes and flight time we'll get to Tokyo around 12:30 Sunday afternoon! Crazy....then we'll be staying in the Keio Plaza Hotel for 3 nights (right in Shinjuku!!) for orientation, and then it's off to Shizuoka with the other 3 new JETs. There are about 16 people on the program already there so I should have a lot of help. One of them even lives in the same apartment building as me. I found out my address already, and that I'm getting a lot of furniture and stuff for free from the guy who's moving out so that will help a lot. Anyway....hm....I started out trying to tell you all what I've been doing this summer and it turned into what I'm going to be doing my first few days in Japan. OK, let's try again. I've been working, rereading Harry Potter (only 5 more days till the last book!), trying to sell my anime collection on ebay. Check it out here if you want some cheap stuff!! I'm also frantically trying to burn all the anime I haven't watched yet onto DVDs so I can take them along. I'm soooo behind on Naruto, Bleach, and a bunch of new stuff that I wanted to start. I can't wait to be able to actually watch them on TV!! Ahhh.....Japan....hehe, so anyway....what else? Oh, yesterday my dad and I went to St. Petersburg to see the Yankees play the Devil Rays with some friends who live down there. In case you didn't know my family (ok, actually just my dad and me) are Yankee fanatics. My dad grew up in New York so I was basically born a fan. I've never been to a game that they've won (which is surprising considering their all time record...) but last night I finally got to see it, so that was pretty awesome. Today I've been busy reading my JET handbook and watching the DVD that came with it. I also got a workbook and set of cds to help learn Japanese so I'm gonna go through some of the lessons in a bit. I think I'm doing fairly well so far having learned only from my iPod (www.japanesepod101.com - it's really good!) but it's time to do the stuff the program has prescribed now. I've been cleaning my apartment a bit too, but it seems kind of pointless since I'm about to move out. Oh well....the hardest thing about leaving for me is going to be giving up my animals. No one in my family seems remotely interested in keeping them so I've been reduced to putting up fliers at work and the vet's office. If anybody wants a dog or 2 cats I'll deliver them to you myself! *sigh* It's ok, I know nobody does....anyway, I guess that's about it for now. Later tonight we're having dinner with my step-sister and her new baby, Kyla Jolynn. I'm not really a baby person, but she looks pretty cute in the picures I've seen so far. Well, here's hoping everyone has had/is having a great summer! I'll be redoing my site soon, but I probably won't be able to make much of a post at that time so the next time you hear from me I should be in Japan!! Ja ne! *hugs*

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Monday, July 9, 2007

   The countdown has begun...

Myspace Countdown or Myspace Layouts now that it's in the intro and we can see how little time is left I'll be changing my layout soon!

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