Thank god it's over!!

Usually I'm demented with joy over the holidays. It's true. I make Christmas cookies and I shop obsessively for ridiculous things that make me giggle to put in the Christmas stocking and I make cards (which if you live outside of handing distance never actually get to you because I'm postally challenged) and I hop around singing awful Christmas carols and generally just make everyone nauseous with my good cheer but this year...not feeling the joy. Not even a flutter. It sucked ass actually. And I'm really glad it's over. I did however feel a little special tingle for the boxing day sales!! Well, the day after boxing day to be precise. Whatever. They were sales and I had the tingle. And it was good. Is that why they call it BOXing day? Tingle. Box. Get it? Nevermind, moving on. I've never been able to partake of the boxing day madness before because traditionally I'm flat broke what with the always being a student and working in a video store or a record store or some other cool place that pays you in lint. Lint I say! But this year...whoa Nellie! I power shopped. One hour. 2 pairs of pants, a lovely green sweater (so soft and comfy you'd swear they skinned at least 3 babies to make it), a cute tank top, another green shirt (not a sweater), a cardigan with sparkly buttons (because I've got to get my joy from somewhere and god knows I love the sparkles! the buttons make rainbows when the sun shines on them for crying out loud!!!), a swanky black top with a satiny collar and some other crap that was lovely also. There may have been dvds involved. HMV had a sale. 3 for $20. I have 2 words for you my friends. The first word is Woody and the second is Allen. I love Woody Allen. I got Manhattan and Annie Hall. My favourite! Annie Hall that is. I also bought Lost in Translation for my nostalgia moments. And that's all. I think. Of course I may have just forgotten stuff because it's all a bit of a blur really. Ordinarily I would just drop my bags fully loaded after a good power shop and leave them to mature for a couple of days and then go back in for a second pass (because I forget what I bought and then it's like a little mini christmas as I open them up! try it. it's good. I swear) but I'm trying to keep my closet...respectable. Yeah. Tell that to the mound of laundry I did yesterday which is currently piled between my air mattress and the dresser. Whatever. There's no joy in laundry. It's never like Christmas. I always remember what I washed dammit. I'm not making any sense at all anymore am I? Okay bye.

Trauma!!

So today my doglet got fixed. Yep. They sliced open her belly and ripped out her girly parts. Did you know that that's what they do?! Because I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I must've known but not really thought about it much but then I was on the internet looking up things I could do to make it easier for her (nothing at all in case you were wondering) and I came across this site that had photos from an actual dog spaying surgery and man! It was wicked gross. Not just gross, or super gross. No. It was wicked gross. And then there were pictures of the bits sitting on a towel after they came out. Like my life wouldn't have been as rich and fulfilled if I hadn't seen those! And then when she came home she was shivering these horrible, bone wracking shivers and whining and occasionally moaning (did you know dogs could moan? because again, I didn't) and I felt so awful for her! So I had a little cry. Because that's what I do. And a little mini panic attack. Because again, what I do. But now she's getting better. But I think I may have created a monster because now she sits in her bed and whines a little, looks at me and then looks at whatever it is that she wants and whines again. And then I bring her whatever she wants. And when she wants to go somewhere she lifts one shaky little paw and sort of pokes it in the general direction she wants to go and then flops it down like she absolutely can't hold it up a second longer. And then I carry her to wherever it is. I'm proud of her. She catches on quick.

So that's my story. Exciting isn't it? I promise I will try to have something for you soon that doesn't revolve around my dog. Or my air mattress. That would mean I would have to leave the house wouldn't it? Crap. I'll see what I can do.

Oooooo

Can I just take a minute to tell you how much I love driving? Because MAN do I love driving! It's true. I mean what's better than the open road stretching before you (wide open roads I might add! God I love the Canada!), good music playing on the stereo (and by good I mean NOT the easy listening that was playing when I got into the car this morning! Sorry mom.) and a nice, solid stick to shift (minds out of the gutter please!)?! I ask you!! It's good. It was such a great driving day today too! Perfectly clear and crisp (but not too cold) and sun shining down on me. It was sweet. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. I need to get me my own car!

Ooo...I'm listening to my step-dad talking on the phone and it reminds me...we went to see Meet the Fockers yesterday and it was so frickin funny! Seriously. I laughed until I almost peed my pants. Of course it doesn't take much really because I'm a total dork but it was good. I like a good laugh. Yep. Good times. Barbara Streisand is in it. Which you would think might be a bad thing but it wasn't! Nooo. It was a good thing! Who knew? I mean, I'm a big fan of her Yentil days but did any of you see The Mirror Has Two Faces? Because it was ugly. Really, really ugly. You should actually watch it just so you can see what I'm talking about. I think whoever directed it was a big fan of the Sybil Sheperd, Moonlighting vaseline on the lens shot. Do you know of what I speak? It's not porn. Although it does kind of sound like it doesn't it? I'm going to shut up now.

Okay bye!

I am a Superstar!

It's true. In our thriving little metropolis of Duncan I am now notorious. Seriously. How did this happen to me, the air mattress dwelling, unemployed, former Nova instructor in just over a week's time? Without the aid of copious amounts of alcohol (although let me tell you, a jug of wine in a paper bag is starting to sound pretty damn good to me my friends) or the assistance of any of my partners in crime (Shae, Virve do you feel the mysterious pull of Duncan? Does it call to you? Methinks it does!) With a little help from my faithful canine companion Lilo, that's how!

So, I'm walking the doglet as I often do and we're cruising the downtown sector, because you know how we are. We like to be where the action is. To feel the pulse of the city. The excitment. It's electric. Can you give me a woo hoo!? How about just a woo? Nevermind. Anyway, we're cruising along. We're window shopping. We're checking out the stores where the arty people go (to sell their crap made out of driftwood to suckers who think that beachcombing with a glue gun takes skill) and as usual Lilo is attracting all kinds of attention from the locals. We've got little old ladies with their walkers squealing about the cute puppy, we've got aging hippy women telling her what an elegant face she has (and soulful eyes, don't forget the soulful eyes) and we've got a whole freakin' plethora of truck driving, cigarette smoking, 1980s jean wearin' family types lunging at her with their smoky fingers (she's afraid of these people and alternates between hiding behind my legs and staring off in the opposite direction hoping I think that if she ignores them they'll go away) and then we've got the children.

Now Lilo ordinarily likes everybody. She's a bit tarty if you ask me. But since we've been here she's been a little sketchy. She now has people she doesn't like. And she has days where she's a little timid even with people she does seem to like. Today was one of those days. So we're outside this little store, we're strutting our stuff. It's all good. Then suddenly we hear "oh! the puppy! look it's a puppy! can I pet your puppy!?" in an octave I don't even have words to describe. So I crouch down and hold Lilo out a little so the kids can pet her. They're cute kids. No visible mucus. No scabs. I think, why not? And then...Lilo starts to back away through my legs which we all think is kind of cute and funny until suddenly it dawns on me that she's wiggled right out of her little harness! At that exact moment it also occurs to her that she's finally escaped her nemesis (she really hates the harness) and she takes off running. Not a little jog. Oh no. A full fledged, ears back, tail tucked sprint. So I drop the leash and chase after her calling her name. Fun. She stops. Her ears swivel and she turns and runs back toward me and I think "oh thank god, what a good dog." Yeah. Right. In my dreams. About 3 feet from me she swivels ubruptly and runs directly into traffic. By now we've attracted a crowd of people who are shouting at the cars to stop and at one another to grab her and Lilo is thrilled! She's playing the ever so fun game of "I'll run right at you and then at the last possible second I'll change direction completely and run back into traffic and then I'll to it again! And again!" It was fun. So there we were. Crowd gathered, people running back and forth across the road trying to catch her, cars stopped for about 2 blocks, the drivers leaning out their windows asking "where is she? is she okay? do you got her?" Yes, do you GOT her. I'm not even kidding. And there I am calling her (did I mention she doesn't respond to calling. We haven't got to that stage in her training yet.) and waving my scarf around because she likes to attack my scarf. And she did. But then she ran back into traffic. And then she attacked my scarf again and then again with the traffic. And of course everytime she got anywhere near me the entire crowd would make this noise like they were really tense and unsure of what would happen. A sharp intake of breath kind of sound. It was hilarious. In retrospect. So finally after about a million years (probably about 5 minutes max) with the help of a guy with a newspaper and some woman I managed to get her cornered and pounced on her as she tried to duck between us and back into the traffic where apparently she feels she belongs.

How does this make me notorious you might ask? On my way home I was stopped by about 4 different people in 4 different locations to congratulate me on getting her back.Not to mention the kindly people who advised me that her harness was perhaps too loose and maybe should be tightened. Or perhaps a smaller harness purchased. And a good time was had by all.

Wow. Duncan Rocks.

I went to the mall yesterday with my mom and I have to say, it really rocked. Or should I say "rawk-ed?" Those of you who were upset that I moved back to Canada before you could visit me in Tokyo never fear! Duncan has more than enought to offer! The mall is bookended by K-Mart and Wal-Mart (that's a whole lotta mart for one itty-bitty mall!) and in the middle...deliciousness! There were several stores of colourful knick-knacks that you might buy for all of those people on your Christmas list that you don't really like (plastic wind chimes, colourful candles that smell like crayons - does that cost extra? because it should!), a dollar store with sporadically stocked shelves and surly employees (but really, who wouldn't be surly in their place? and they had jelly bracelets for $1.50), and orange julius with a line-up of 5 of the fattest women I've ever seen all of whom went away clutching cheese dripping hot dogs in one meaty paw and a super size drink in the other (but the drink doesn't count because it's healthy right? I mean, there is fruit in it?!) and one really loud woman in purple spandex pants and a horizontally striped shirt who I overheard giving a younger and equally "interesting" girl this wonderful support, "you tell them that if he fucks with any of you kids we'll come after him because you know you've got fuckin' family and me and ... will come over there and hunt him down and I'll kick his ass myself because you know you kids, no one can fuck with you guys!" I didn't bring my camera figuring there'd be nothing worthwhile to snap photos of but...next time I'll know better. Look forward to some stunning ofoto albums coming your way! Woo hoo! Yeah! Duncaaaaaaaan! Kill me now.

Drunken Duncan

Well, here I am in Drunken Duncan. I have to say this is not my best year. Thank god it'll be over in a few weeks! I'm not really big on the whole New Years resolution thing (I kind of figure you should just do what you have to do whenever it is that you have to do and not make a really big deal out of it) but I think this year I'm going to try it out. Not resolutions per se but goals. Because you've gotta have goals. Right? Right. Okay. Goals. So here's what I'm thinking thus far...

1. Find a job you bum! Yes. A job. A real job. Not a "I have a really great degree and I work at Starbucks job." Because that would be just too depressing.

2. Straighten things out with the student loans. This is number 2 on the list because it's execution sort of depends on number one. Let's not talk about it anymore.

3. Get an apartment. I love my momma and Fred and it's actually good being here but...Duncan. Seriously. Have any of you BEEN to Duncan? It's alright to drive through (you just close your eyes and you're through in a second and if you've got the muchies they've got like, 50 fast food restaurants in a 3 block span of the highway) but to actually stop! And then stay here?! Not so much. And I'm trapped. No car, no escape. Very sad state of affairs. Thank god my parents have about 100 channels!

4. Get a car. This is a biggie because really, where am I going to get the money for a car that'll last for more than 5 minutes? But whatever. It's a goal. And it's mine. They should really make disposable cars. Cars with a road life of say, 1,000km or something and a max speed of like, 80km/hour that cost $200. It'd be great. It could tide you over until you could buy a real car! And you wouldn't have to worry about some hick with a 1982 Buick with double wide doors (each a different colour - one of the colours preferrably being primer) and 6 cats and a fat baby in the backseat with a runny nose and a fist full of candy and a dozen dings and dents in various locations (on the car, not the baby) crashing into it with their Wal-Mart cart and then smashing the side with their giant door. Yep. I've been in Duncan too long already. Could you tell?

5. Get rid of my giant ass. Well, maybe not all of it because then I'd have no ass at all and that seems a little too far in the other direction. But, I could do to lose a good portion of it. A hefty portion if you will. Tee hee. Whatever. This shouldn't be too hard to do since I can't leave Lilo alone in the apartment so if I go out, she goes out with me and she's not allowed into any places where they sell food...no problem. We'll be cruising the streets of downtown Duncan Lilo and me. Non-stop excitment I tell you. Non-f*#&ing stop. :-)

So those are my resolutions. Fancy aren't they? I know, pretty standard and not at all up to my usual par but hey, they're mine. I should add stop smoking to the list just to round out the cliches. Of course I don't actually smoke to begin with so I guess that would be cheating.

Whatever!?

Well, the time has finally come...this time tomorrow I'll be winging my way to Vancouver. Winging. Is that really a verb? How exactly does one wing? Or did I make it up? Maybe it's supposed to be wending? Wending my way? Winding? Whatever.

Have I ever mentioned to you that I don't believe in planes? Because I don't. They defy all Ange logic. Of course so do computers, microwaves (especially when they restore freshness to formerly stale baked goods like magic. Magic I say!) and twinkies (the kind you eat, not the kind that wander around batting their fake eyelashes, snapping their gum and saying "like, whatever." - wait a minute...I say that...). I'm also not 100% sure about dentists.

Seriously though. Who decided that hurtling a giant piece of metal through the air with people inside was a really swell idea?! That was a rhetorical question. I'm familiar with the history and logistics of flight I just don't believe in it. You might as well tell me they have a team of dedicated elves who scamper all over the outside of the plane shaking fairies and that the flight itself relies on the pilot's ability to think happy thoughts. That I can believe. I've been clicking my heels together and saying there's no place like home all day but I think it's all in the shoes. I hoped my red leather stilettos would do (kidding, don't actually own red leather stilettos) but apparently you need rubies. I'll have to work on that for next time.

And hello?! Why is it less than 24 hours until my flight and my packing isn't finished? I distinctly remember telling the happy gnomes that they needed to be finished by now. I wanna speak to the manager.

And now I must partake of the crappy combini noodle action because "I'm as hongry as a hostage." Don't kill me. I didn't make it up, I'm just passing it along. Okay buh-bye! My next post will be from sunny BC - or Drunken Duncan if you're going to be particular about it.

La la la

So I had a meeting yesterday afternoon with Kohsuke's boss and some of the other people from various sections of the company (there are actually 5 companies under the umbrella of the one company - a hair salon, a graphic design company, a copy-writing and advertising company, a hair and makeup person for photoshoots and whatnot and an interior/industrial design company but I don't get to do their website because they already have one) to go over the website designs I've been working on for them and it was great! Zero changes to the look of the sites! ZERO! Woo hoo! Yay me! I don't think I've ever had a project with so many different people involved where no one requested any alterations to the design. It's so good.

Wow.

I just can't believe that I'm almost down to 2 weeks left in Japan! Today is what, the 29th? And I leave on the 14th. Holy crap! I'm so excited! I'm still a little sad but mostly excited now. Kohsuke and I went to Roppongi Hills on the weekend and it was... alot of shopping. I liked it but really, how much fun can you have in a gigantic shopping mecca when all you can afford to buy is a Christmas card. A as in ONE Christmas card! It sucked ass. But very swank. Swanky ass sucking. I took a lot of pictures and fondled a lot of designer goods that I'll never actually be able to afford. It was groovy. And then we went to...I forget. No! I remember! Shibuya! And there was nore pictures taking of the sneaky variety and some Starbucks and then home. Do you think it's wrong to photograph the homeless? Because I'd like to but then I think maybe it's just not right. But then I think what the hell. I just don't know.

We're going to head out to the Tsukiji Fish Market really early on Saturday morning. I'm stoked. Well, as stoked as you can be when you're going to have to get up at 5am. Because really, what kind of person gets up at 5am? I ask you! Not this kind of person. Not usually anyway. But I will because happiness isn't happiness without a guitar playing goat. Sorry. That has nothing to do with anything. I just like it. But really, I should be able to get some fun photos of the giant tuna and the fish flying through the air. Or is that the Seattle fish market? I can't remember. Ooo...I'm looking forward to the sushi as well. Mmm...raw fish at 6am. Sounds good! The scary thing is that I'm not actually joking here. I love smell of fish in the morning. Um, wait a minute...that's just not right. I mean, I'm SO not wearing the comfortable shoes if you get my drift. And then maybe we'll go on the Tokyo Dome roller coaster again. I like it. Like it a lot. Or maybe not. There was something else I really wanted to do this weekend but now I can't remember. I'll have to consult my list. Lists are good.

Okay bye.

Lots of plans

So at Nova they have this thing called the Voice Room. The function of the Voice Room is for students to have a place to practice using their english in a less structured environment. Some teachers like to give them tasks to complete, some play games, some just have guided discussions or conversations. It's alot of fun sometimes. And sometimes not. Anyway, yesterday I decided to tell some of the students that I was leaving soon and give them the task of arranging a touristy itinerary for my remaining days in Tokyo. Things I HAVE to see or do before I leave Japan. I'm always a little shocked to find out how little most people living in Tokyo actually know about the city but they managed to come up with a few good ideas. So here they are!

1. Tsukiji Fish Market - I think it's one of the biggest or maybe even the biggest fish market in the world. Which in itself is maybe not so exciting but if you go early in the morning they have the freshest, tastiest sushi known to mankind. So I'm in! I'm going to try to go next week. You have to be there by about 7am. I'm afraid. I'm very afraid.

2. Korakuen Amusement Park - This is actually the amusement park near the Tokyo Dome that I went to with Moody last week. But I'd like to go again. The trip with Moody was very quick and we just went on the scary roller coaster because I had to get to work. They have other equally frightening rides that I may have to partake of. Maybe.

3. Sumo - It looks like watching sumo may be a no go. I'd love to see it but the current set of matches ends this weekend and I'm all booked up today and I have to work Sunday so...yeah. No sumo for me I think. I'm very sad.

4. Roppongi Hills - This is actually just a building in Roppongi. But it's new and very famous and swanky. Nobody seems to be too sure as to why it's famous exactly but it is and I'm intruigued. A little boy was crushed to death in the revolving door of the building and one of my students sites that as the reason the building is so famous but I'd heard of it before that so I'm not sold on that theory. We're going today so I'll let you know.

5. Onsen (japanese hot spring) - Again, I probably don't have time to partake of the onsen-y goodness. It's sad but true. But really, getting naked with a bunch of strange japanese people (strange as in unknown to me, not abnormal in any way that I know of) just isn't my thing right now. I'm shy.

6. Ueno - This is an area of Tokyo that is quite famous. Why? Not sure. But it's where the Science Museum and Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum are. I'm going to try to make it to both of those museums before I go because, well, I love museums. Dorky but true. I've been to Ueno before to visit the grave of our friends's ancestors. It's a really exclusive and expensive cemetery with a walled off section that is really old and contains the remains of famous samurai and whatnot. I'd love to go back and take some photos. It's really beautiful.

7. Pachinko - Ahhh. Pachinko. Really pointless gambling type game that people in this country are completely addicted to. I've never been myself but it seems like I should try it once before I go. There are pachinko parlour everywhere so I'll have lots of opportunity. The students seemed to think that I should get the whole experience by lining up with the really desperate people outside the parlour in the morning. Because they're funny.

8. Akihabara - You may have heard of Akihabara. It's the famous electronic goods district in Tokyo. It used to be the place to go for just about anything. Lots of bargains and shady backroom type deals. But not so much anymore. Now that it's so famous with the tourists it's pretty much as expensive or more expensive than anywhere else. But apparently there are a lot of interesting people I can take sneaky photos of there. I may drop by today if I have time.

9. Mitsukoshi department store in Nihombashi - This was a suggestion given to me by one of the housewife students. They love the department stores and apparently this one is fantastic. It was recently remodelled and she expects good things from it. It's pretty close by so I'm thinking I will check it out because some of the department stores here in Tokyo are really remarkable. They've taken shopping to a whole new level really. And I do like to shop.

So there you go. This is what I'll be doing in the time I have left here. I'm actually not sure I'll have enough time for all of it which is kind of sad. I've only got 17 days left and a big website to build for Kohsuke's boss and Nova to go to as well. Grrr. Working sucks. It leaves so little time for sightseeing! :-)

Fantastico View!

Fantastico View!,
originally uploaded by Marilynmonroetoe.

This is a pic taken from the 45th (I think) floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building. So cool! But I wasn't too fond of the unnecessarily large wall diagram detailing how in case of an earthquake the building is designed to sway back an forth like an orange on a straw (my description, not theirs). Not fond at all. Nope.

Elvis. And other good things

So yesterday I was telling one of my students about my fascination with Elvis impersonators (not Elvis himself, just the impersonators) and she said I was crazy. What's that all about? Am I the only girl in the world that thinks crazy 50s style hair and a little rhinestone action is hot? I especially like the way they combine the looks of Elvis. They choose the pre-bloat body (the good ones anyway) the late 50s - early 60s style hair and the rhinestones!!! Woo hoo! I'm also a fan of leather Elvis but the rhinestones just make it a little more special. And who doesn't want to feel special. It's all about the sparkle. I worked with a girl once who had slept with the Elvis impersonator on this cruise she was on. She was my hero. She also ordered a prom dress from a shop in Vegas. Is there anything funner? (Yes I know funner isn't a word).

Maybe I need to go to Vegas.

Or maybe I should befriend one of the rockabilly guys in the park and get him to wear the rhinestones for me! They've already got the hair! And the kick ass dance moves! Do you think they practice at home in front of a mirror? Do they have one of those walls of mirror like you see in the gym? The apartments here are generally pretty small so maybe they just go to the gym and practice their posing while lifting free weights. And if that's the case, do they wear their tight jeans or leather pants to the gym as well? What about the cowboy boots? Or do they wear spandex? Because that's just wrong. I'm just imaging one of them getting off the train to go to the gym with his greaser hair, cowboy boots, leather jacket and shiny black spandex shorts. Ack! Get out of my head! This may very well ruin the whole thing. I'm going to have to go back on a Sunday very soon to get this ghastly picture out of my mind. Ghastly. Is it even possible to say the word ghastly without using some sort of cheesy faux british accent? Not for me.

In the immortal words of Keanu Reeves...wo.

I'm leaving Japan in 20 days. 20 days!! That's crazy talk. I can't believe I'm actually leaving. I'm sad and happy all at the same time. I'm also a little hungry but that has nothing to do with Japan. It's just time for brunch. Because I don't eat breakfast but I"m sometimes too hungry to wait for lunch so...brunch! Isn't it magical? Anyway, I'm leaving. On a jet plane. Don't know when I'll be back again. Sorry. I woke up feeling a little odd this morning. It's going to be a long day of speaking in song lyrics and movie quotes. I can feel it. I'm such a dork. A neo-maxi-zoom-dweebie even. Yup. Movie quotes. So what was I talking about?

Right. Leaving Japan. It's strange. I wish I was staying but I'm thrilled to be leaving. Yesterday I left for work early and went down to Harajuku and Shibuya and wandered around a bit. I bought a funky yet affordable watch and was hit on by a tall and kind of sexy black guy who pestered me until I took down his number which I will not be calling because...well, I'm just not interested in numbers right now. Especially when they belong to people who follow random girls around Harajuku trying to pick up. You see where I'm coming from? But he was kind of cute so I'm flattered. And while I was wandering around in the happy sunshine, window shopping and all that I felt really happy and I thought about how much I would miss Tokyo. It's a really amazing city. And there are so many things I haven't done yet! We have this big, long list of things we were going to do when we had more time or more money or more whatever and now...yeah. It's sad. Not hamsters gnawing at my belly sad but sad nonetheless. I've never seen a sumo match. Or a noh play. Or kabuki theatre. I've never been to Hokkaido or Okinawa. Or the crazy fish market. Actually, I think I will do that before I go so I can cross that one off the list. It's always sad to leave a place that has so much to offer. You could live here for your entire life and never do everything. I'd like to come back sometime and see Tokyo just as a tourist without the pressures of everyday life.

Most of all I'll miss all the great people watching. It's so good here! I've been trying to get out to take pictures of random people doing their thing as often as I can lately. I spent a good deal of time bonding with the Rockabilly guys in Yoyogi Park last weekend. It was great. And by bonding I mean I took a lot of pictures and they did a lot of posing. I find them oddly compelling. It's disease. There should be a 12 step program for that. No! If loving the Rockabillies is wrong, I don't wanna be right! Tee hee.

This weekend I'm going to station myself in some cafe in Shibuya or Harajuku and take sneaky shots of people passing by. I have Kohsuke's swanky camera with the crazy zoom which is perfect for the sneaky shots. Perfect I say! I should become a private eye. Then I could spend all of my time taking sneaky pictures and I'd get paid for it. Plus I could become a master of disguise and wear wigs and stuff. And hats. Hats are key. Okay, food now.

Random Questions Make Me Laugh.

I recently got another of these survey emails so instead of sending it out to everybody and their dog I'm posting it here for anyone who's interested. That way I don't get any hate mail from my friends and family who are sick to death of surveys! It's win, win really.


1. What time did you get up? 9am.

2. If you could eat lunch with one person, who would it be? I think I'm still gonna go with John Cusack. He just seems fun you know? Or maybe Johnny Depp. Just so he could sit there and look cool. No. John Cusack.

3. Gold or silver? White gold. That way you don't have the dilemma. It's got the shiny silverness of silver but the swankiness of gold. It's the perfect precious metal. Unless of course you want to talk about platinum. And who doesn't want to talk about platinum!?

4. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The cinema? I love it when people call it the cinema! It sounds so much cooler than theatre. I haven't been to the cinema for ages!! Maybe it was Spiderman 2.

5. What is your favorite TV show? At the moment I'm addicted to 24. I've watched the first season and now I'm working my way through the 2nd but the rental competition is fierce here! The whole frickin' country is addicted to 24! I'm going to have to stake out the video store.

6. What do you have for breakfast? Oh my god! I just woke up! I'm planning on having a couple of those taasty japanese oranges and a glass of water. I can't do food in the morning.

7. Who would you hate to be stuck in a room with? Hmmm...so many choices depending on my mood. My father, his crazy sister, George Bush, the really annoying guy at work, Kohsuke's skank (because I'd have to kill her)...it's a long list really. I'm going to add a more positive version of this question!

7b. Who would you love to be stuck in a room with? Virve, Marya, Marla, Shae, Tom, O'Neil, Kohsuke (what can I say, he's still one of my best friends - he just can't bring his skank), and about a zillion other supa fun people that I can think of but don't want to type out because I'm very lazy.

8. What inspires you? Sunshine. Strong people who know what they want and go after it without squashing people along the way.

9. What is your middle name? Oh god. Why do we always have to talk about it? Brandy. There. Are you happy now?!

10. Beach, city or country? I love this question. Beach located in the country about a 40 minute drive from the city. But if I had to choose just one...city. Maybe. Or maybe beach. But not country.

11. Favorite ice cream? I don't know what it's called. It's some crazy citrusy blend they used to have at the Coombs Old Country Market with the goats on the roof and the whatnot. It had mango and orange and maybe pineapple but I could be adding that one in myself.

12. Butter, plain, or salted popcorn? Popcorn kind of picks my ass now that I think about it. I like the butter and a little salt but I really hate the way bits get stuck in your teeth for hours afterward so you're walking around making these ridiculous faces while trying to poke it out with your tongue. Or maybe that's just me.  

13. Favorite color? Red. Black. Happy, sunshiny yellow (with a hint of orange) and...pink. Shut up. It's happy.

14. What kind of car do you drive? Ha ha! No car here. But in my head I drive a VW Karmenghia. Is it spelt with a K? Or a C? I don't know, but I like it.

15. What is your favorite sandwich? Traditionally a beef dip but I have to say I've become partial to the club.  

16. What characteristic do you despise? Sickly sweet fake niceness (embrace your inner bitch!), dishonesty, arrogance and cruelty.

17. Favorite flower? Sunflower or daisies of the gerber variety or otherwise. I love all flowers really but those are just so forcefully cheerful. Are there any happier flowers than these?

18. If you could go anywhere in the world on a vacation, where would it be?  New York to visit the Beerbah. Or if we take friends out of the equation then Italy. To visit the art.
 
19. What colour is your bath robe? No robe.
 
20. Favorite brand of clothing? Too poor to be a brand girl. I'd like to develop a taste for Chanel or Gaultier. But for now...the Gap and Old Navy. Oooo...and this brand here called Hysteric Glamour. But a t-shirt costs about $70 so...yeah. Lots of skulls and bat wings and fun stuff. It's cool. I have one shirt I found in an outlet store for $25.  

21. Favorite day of the week? I'm going with Saturday. I have to work the next couple of Sundays so it's no longer my favourite. I'm fickle that way.
 
22. What did you do for your last birthday? Had a little partay at the bar downstairs with some friends and then went to FujiQ Highlands Park the next day. It rained. Most of the rides were closed and I was really wigged out the whole time by the weird vibes. Not a stellar birthday to be honest. But the thought was nice.    

23. Where were you born? Drunken Duncan, City of Totems. Vancouver Island, BC, Canada for those of you not familiar with the non-stop party that is Duncan.     

24. Favorite sport to watch? The kind that is over in 10 minutes so I go back to watching something I actually like? Do they have one of those? Ha ha. I'm a good canadian girl. Hockey of course. Or rugby. Rugby is fun.

25. Who do you least expect to send this back to you?  All of the people I didn't send it to.

26. Person you expect to send it back first? Johnny Depp. He's really very attentive. I've told him to back off a little, I need some space but he's just crazy about me. He can't help it. It's the sex vibe I send out. It's really not his fault.


Part II
 
1. WHAT IS YOUR NAME? Angela Brandy Tomizu (for now)
 
2. WHAT COLOUR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING?  I so don't want to tell you! Black with white stripes down the side. They're my comfy pants!

3. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? My dog destroying something. There's some thumping and clicking involved which makes me think it's a shoe.

4. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT?  Worked, met Kohsuke for dinner and hung out for awhile.

5. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?  Mos Burger!! The best fast food in the universe. It's true.

6. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? The black with silver sparkles. I saw it. It does exist.

7. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? So nice!! Sunny and cool. Crisp you might say. Or a little nippley but that's just crass.

8. WHO IS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Kohsuke.         

9. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? Depends which way they're facing. Different things in different situations I guess. Probably height. If I'm looking then I note the build, the eyes and the smile. Hands are also key.  
 
10. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS? Yes. She's funny. Funny is good.
 
11. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? I'm okay. The sun is shining, the dog is biting something that is not me...it's a good day.

12. FAVOURITE DRINK? I'm so boring. Water. Then chai latte from Starbucks. Diet coke is also a good thing.

13. FAVOURITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK? No favourites. I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl. Shuji the sexy bartender downstairs makes a mean Alabama Slammer. I'm also quite fond of the strawberry margaritas at Ginas in Nanaimo.

14. FAVOURITE SPORTS? Tonsil hockey? Or do you want a real sport? To do would be cycling, or mountain biking (back when I lived somewhere with mountains and actually had a mountain bike). To watch...hockey of course.

15. HAIR COLOUR? Reddish at the moment.

16. EYE COLOUR?  Hazel with a strong tendency toward green.

17. SUNRISE OR SUNSET? Sunrise. I know, I know. Usually when I see sunrise it's because I've been up all night not because I'm an early rising go-getter type. But it makes me happy to see the sun come up.         

18. SIBLINGS AND THEIR AGES? None really. A couple of steps here and there.

19. FAVOURITE MONTH? October, December and July.        

20. FAVOURITE FOOD? I like food. I'm partial to mexican, thai and japanese. But I also like a cheeseburger.

21. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Satisfaction with Justine Bateman. I love the 80s. I love the Batemans!        

22. FAVOURITE DAY OF THE WEEK?  This is so redundant! It's still Saturday.

24. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT? Sometimes. Shut up. It's true.

25. FAVOURITE SONG? No. No favourite song. But I was listening to Istanbul Not Constantinople by They Might Be Giants and it made me want to shake my ass so that was pretty high on my list yesterday. Ooo...I'm also addicted to Summertime by Janis Joplin at the moment. And Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel. He's sexy.

26. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer. I like the sunshine.

27. HUGS OR KISSES? Both! Who would ever want to choose?!

28. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STAND? I'd like to say one night stand but sadly relationships. I'm a fan.

29. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Chocolate.

30. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO WRITE BACK? Um, no. Because I'm not actually sending it to any of them.


Where are questions 31 and 32? What happened to them? My favourite cheesy celebrity is a tie between that actor with the really fake orange tan (George something maybe) and that woman who had so much plastic surgery she looks like a cat. I'm also partial to Anna Nicole Smith and Paris Hilton because who doesn't love really stupid girls? Add Jessica Simpson to the list.


33. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS?  Me, my dog and Mr.Bear. Currently in a cute little studio apartment in Tokyo but soon to be an air mattress on my mom's floor in Duncan. Best not to dwell.

34. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Burglar on the Prowl by Lawrence Block. I chose it because it had a funky cover and it's really quite good. I'm not usually the mystery type but I dig this one. Which is good because he has many other books that I will now partake of. I read too much so I'm always on the lookout for a new author.

35. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Mouse pads are so 1995.

36. FAVOURITE BOARD GAME? Still Cranium. Oh my god! I hadn't thought of it before but now I'll be able to play Cranium again!! I'm so excited! This is a sad day really. I'm actually excited by the prospect of playing Cranium. Was I always this big a dork and I just didn't notice?

37. CAN YOU TOUCH YOUR NOSE WITH YOUR TONGUE?  What am I a circus freak? No. I have a small tongue. Shut up.

40. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY? I don't like this question. Maybe sometimes. Not all the time and maybe not this week in particular but overall, yes. I have a lot of good things in my life so I guess that would make me lucky. Not like lottery winning lucky but not too bad either.

Crazy

I've just had a really fun day today. Nothing special happened but I'm just feeling so good and strong and optimistic! I met Kohsuke for a beer downstairs in my favourite bar and it was fun. I didn't cry and I didn't feel bad at all. I enjoyed my beer and we talked and it was nice. And there was non-stop eye-candy with the sexy bartender and then as we were leaving he (sexy bartender) gave me a mixed cd he made me. It was good. Kohsuke and I were in there having a beer a couple of nights ago and SB was listening to heaps of great (and I mean really great, not just by comparison great) japanese music and I kept asking him what it was and voila! Mixed cd for me! Score! Did I mention that he's hot? Anyway, that's my night. Simple but good. And I didn't cry once today. And my hot surfer boy student at work (I call him my surfer boyfriend) was crushed when I told him I was leaving. He wouldn't shut up about it. I actually had to tell him to shut up so we could get on with the lesson. I feel so loved. If only he expressed himself nekkid. Say it with nekkidness I always say. Kidding. Sort of. Nevermind. I'm crazy from the beer! It's the liquor talking! The liquor!

Ahh...Japan...

One of the things I will miss most about Tokyo is the noise. Not the too many people crammed into a space that's way too small and all of them driving around at once kind of noise but the strange noise. For example, the trucks that drive around my neighbourhood all day blaring strange music or recorded messages from loudspeakers on the tops of their trucks, selling things or offering services.

Some of them are loud and scary and make me want to throw things at them but most of them are really funny and occasionally really beautiful. A truck just went by playing this beautiful, haunting music that sounded like an old fashioned music box and I can still kind of hear strains of it as it circles the block (lots of one way streets make for lots of block circling) and it makes me feel nostaligic for something or some place I don't even remember. It's great. Sometimes they sing as they drive to tell people what they're selling and sometimes it's just the music. Different pieces of music mean different things that only the people who grew up here understand. It's something that's so different from home that I think it will always stick in my memory. One of my person favourites is this strange, warped carnival music that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up everytime I hear it. It's so bizarre and creepy for me as a westerner but nobody else seems to notice. I think they were selling tofu. Maybe. I can't remember. Everytime I hear it I have visions of horribly deformed clowns popping out from the back of the truck weilding long, curvy knives. And yes, this is one of my favourites. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I'm a strange animal. :-)

I think I'll be posting a lot of these memory style posts over the next month. I guess I'm hoping that recording my thoughts now will help me to be able to remember everything once I've gone. It's been a really interesting experience living here and I don't want all of my thoughts and feelings about the rest of what's going on to crowd out the memories of the place itself. So bear with me. Soon enough I'll be posting scathing descriptions of "the island" and it's colourful inhabitants in my customary bitchy, I mean funny, yeah... funny, manner.

Gah!

So I'm feeling a lot better today than I have for a long time. I mean, I'm damn nervous about moving back to Canada, sorting things out with the student loan people and finding myself a design job but I'm also kind of excited. Terrified too. But people do this kind of thing everyday don't they? Dealing with debts, finding jobs, building lives for themselves. It's not like I'm the first person to have to do this. It's kind of funny when you think about it...I have no problem picking up and moving to another country (it seems easier even now just to hop on a plane to Korea or somewhere to teach english and travel) but the thought of trying to lead a "normal" life just freaks me out. I'm a strange animal, that's what I know. But I'm going to do it.

I worry alot though. I wonder if I'm doing the right thing going back to Canada or if I should be staying here for a few years to save money. But then I think that if I stay here teaching english for much longer I'd not only go insane, I'd be so far out of the design loop I don't know how I'd ever get back in. And I want to make a career for myself. I don't know how many of my old dreams are still really interesting to me anymore but I do know that I am a designer and I want to work in my field. Eventually I think I still want to teach. I love connecting with people and helping them to understand. And I love rhetoric. I haven't had much chance to expand my thinking on the subject over the past couple of years given all of the other things I've been doing but I'd love the opportunity to get back into it. Maybe I will eventually go to school and get my phd. Maybe not. But I want to be involved in my chosen industry. I want my brain to feel alive again. Because living here, in a country where even the most basic communication is a challenge for me, my brain has become a little numb. I've gotten so caught up in trying to navigate my way through the everyday stuff that I've neglected the more interesting bits. I don't know what it says about me or my relationship with Kohsuke but after the first week of our breakup (which was a nightmare) I'm feeling more alive than I have for months. I feel like I have some sense of purpose that I haven't felt much since we've been together. And it's good. I also feel really lonely but I can see how that can change once I get home and get out and about. I don't ever want my whole existence to revolve around one person again. It's too much. For me and for them. I need to make a good life for myself without anyone else in it. Except of course the doglet. The doglet can stay. Because she brings the happy joy-joy feelings. Of course she also brings the destruction of computer power chords, my glasses, the blinds and a number of other things but I'm told that's just a phase. Maybe if I had her teeth pulled out and fed her soft food...kidding. Sort of.

All this introspection is making me a bit stir crazy. I think my friend Moody and I are going to go to the Tokyo Dome tomorrow and go on the scariest looking roller coaster I've ever even thought of getting on. I was thinking about my birthday trip to FujiQ Highland Park and how I didn't go on the roller coaster there (or anything else really) because the whole time I felt scared and weird like there was something bad about to happen and I just wan't sure what it was about and I realised that the impending doom sensation was coming from Kohsuke and I and now that it's past I regret not having more fun that day. I'm not a chicken by nature. I mean, I get scared (terrified of rollercoasters because of the height issue) but that's part of the fun usually. So I'm going to go to the Tokyo Dome Park and reclaim my fun. Dammit. I may also wet my pants because this is one scary frickin' roller coaster but hey, it'll be fun. And if the roller coaster derails and I go flying into the side of a building...well, at least I wasn't hit by a bus right? Life is too short to be scared and nervous all the time and I used to know this. And now it's time for me to know it again. I just wish it was a little warmer. Brrrrr.

So that's my update. Now that I'm feeling a little better and probably won't feel the urge to post crazy, depressing monologues with snippets of melodramatic poetry sprinkled sporadically throughout too often I think I'll be posting more regularily. Is that really a word? Regularily? Regularly? I forget. This is what happens when you teach english in Japan. You forget how to actually speak (or write) english. It's very sad really. I'm going to go straight to my storage unit and dig out my gigantic dictionary as soon as I get home so people won't mistake me for a moron. Of course, I will be staying in Duncan for awhile so maybe I'll be alright. Tee hee. Kidding. Again with the sort of.

Okay bye!

Slugs and Hisses and Gimme a Job Wishes,
Angela.

Why did I sign my name on my own frickin' blog you might ask? It's my damn blog and you're not the boss of it so shut up! :-)

So sad

Well, as most of you know, my marriage to Kohsuke has come to an end. A sad, and icky feeling end too. I love him to bits and I wish it had worked out but no. I thought about leaving him many times but I just couldn't do it. You see, our unhappiness had nothing to do with compatibility or personality. We always got along fabulously and we still do. When I'm not calling him horrible names or crying that is. But prior to that. Our problems stemmed from our circumstances and the way we dealt with them. We made alot of bad choices and let alot of things slide when we should have been addressing them and now it's gone too far to go back because he's found someone else and I have no trust left for him. Or for anyone else unfortunately. I think I had him up on this pedestal. I thought he was the perfect guy (well, almost anyway), I thought I really knew him. I had him on this pedestal in my mind where he was the kindest, most honest, thoughtful and devoted man in the world. I really did. I looked at him and I saw only sweetness. I always thought I would be the one to fuck it up by fooling around with someone else because let's face it, I've been down that road before. But I was wrong. So, so wrong. I still believe that he's a good person. He's kind and he's funny but he's very capable of lying and not so much with the devotion. And it breaks my heart. Which has also happened before so I know that I will get over it, it's just that it'll be such a long haul. I've never been big on trust when it comes to men and now I don't know how I'll ever trust anyone again and that's a scary thought. He made me believe in romance and fairy tales again which is silly coming from a grown woman but it's true. He wasn't ever particularly romantic but something about the way he looked at me made me believe and that was a great feeling. I'd like to feel that way again someday. But for now, I just hurt. So much that I don't know how I'll get through it. I mean, I will get through it, but I can't quite see how yet. Although today I had a tiny glimpse of what it might be like to meet someone new and have that tingly feeling of new romance again so...I guess that's a good sign. But it won't be for awhile. Because I just need to sort myself out first. I think that's been my biggest problem in the past. I cut one person out of my life (or they cut themselves out) and I just replace them with someone new. I think I need to figure out how to make myself happy without having to rely on anyone else.

Groovy

This really is a great time of year. The air is all crisp and lovely, the evening comes sooner and all the leaves are lovely and colourful. It's so groovy. I think it's pretty bizarre that no matter where you go (okay, my scope may be a little limited here), the air always smells the same in the fall. I didn't give it much thought before I came here because really, who does give alot of thought to how the air will smell when the seasons change when they're moving to another country? Not me. But since I'm here and I've got a lot of free time going on, why not? Tonight is actually the first time this fall that I've been hit with a wave of nostalgia due to the smell of the air. It's got that crispness I love so much (not cold really but somehow fresher feeling than usual...because sometimes you just don't feel fresh...sorry) and the smell of leaves burning that always reminds me of halloween and being out after dark running around in some crazy costume with your friends, eating copious amounts of candy. Jumping in piles of crunchy leaves, and yes, a little of the smoking pot in a field out behind the high school. But that came much later than the rest!

Whenever I smell that particular fall smell in the air I always think of a specific halloween. I was in grade 7 which would make me a sassy 12 year old, and we had just moved to Lantzville from Prince Rupert. I don't know why it stands out particularly. I guess I must have been really happy. I had my first boyfriend who was very handsome and very popular (probably a shoe salesman or something now - in retrospect he seems like a used car salesman type but at the time he was the shit), I had cute outfits and cool hair (again with the first time thing - I was always at the bottom of the cool food chain in elementary school), and I had friends (not so plentiful prior to this occasion either). The night was crisp (as I like it!) and there was a big neighbourhood bonfire that all the families went to and I don't really remember anything else. Except that it was exciting and fantastic. We were allowed to be there and it was perfectly safe and my parents must have been there somewhere but somehow it felt a little bit dangerous anyway. A little bit risky. In a PG kind of way of course. The only tangible picture I have in my head of that night is of a path beside the school field with lots of feet passing by and drops of dew all over the grass and the weeds and the shoes. It was a fantastic night that stands alone. It's not great because it was connected to someone I love or loved, or because anything extraordinary happened. It's great just because it is. And even now that I'm 30 and 18 years have passed since then, I still see those feet filing down that path everytime I smell burning leaves on crisp autumn air.

What a crappy week!

Yes. My grandfather is in the hospital again, there've been about a million earthquakes and aftershock thingys (not a fan!!!), Laurie has abandoned me and Shae is going soon (good thing she's dead to me already isn't it?) and I still haven't been called about that lovely job. And I'm getting a cold. What is up with that? I'm going to have a bath and go to bed where I will proceed to wallow in the depths of despair. Oh and it's really cold in my apartment and I can't figure out how to turn on the heater thingy.

Why can I not get a real job?! I'm such a loser. I mean, okay, I've only applied for one actual "real" job since I've been here but whatever! Oh. Despair. The interview went so well. Am I a terrible judge of character? Did I read the situation completely wrong? Were they really thinking "get out of here loser!" when I thought they were thinking "damn you're cool!"? Should I call them? Is that desperate? Wait, I am desperate. Isn't it kind of rude of them to ignore my email? Am I dwelling? The worst part is that someone called my cell phone today while I was at work and I thought woo hoo! it's them! but when I called the number some japanese guy answered and it so wasn't them. Baaaaaaaaah! Bath now. Mope later. Grrrr.

To sum up; everybody sucks. Except me. And the doglet. Although I sometimes think she might suck. Especially when she's biting my nose with her horrible, stabbing, needle like teeth.

Okay bye.

Oooo

Just in case you were wondering, as of last night, wooden houses built prior to the 1980s are still more susceptable to earthquake damage than newer buildings. Especially if the earthquake is a 6 or higher. Because you know you were wondering.

Grrrr...

Okay, so I applied for this really great job last Thursday and the interview seemed to go really well. Everything they said about what they needed in the job corresponded to something I've worked on in the past and quite enjoyed so I was stoked and they seemed stoked and I don't think I said anything really retarded (although I was really nervous so I suppose I could have blocked it out of my mind) and they seemed like they were really interested. Toward the end of the interview they told me that they were interviewing that week and would be calling people in for second interviews next week (which is now this week) and the last thing they said to me was "we'll be in touch with you really soon." which sounds promising, yes? But ack! It's Wednesday and no calls!!! What's up with that?! Do they not love me?! What if they tried to call but I was in a tunnel so they couldn't get through?! This could happen. I spend a lot of time in tunnels going to and from work. Or what if they tried to call yesterday when I forgot my phone at home? My apartment is witchy so calls sometimes don't get through! Kohsuke tried to call several times last night and kept getting different weird automatic messages so I"m not just being paranoid. Oh my god. So I emailed them (I was going to call but there were 2 people at the interview and it wasn't clear which one was the higher up although now that I think about it maybe it was clear but whatever) this morning just to follow up. Is it acceptable to email as a follow up? See, I just know nothing about anything. I have to go back to bed now and pray for death. Why do I get so nervous!? Gah!

Ooo...but on the up side, I'm going to the Mango Tree restaurant for the fabulous lunch Thai buffet today with my retarded friend and my friend who makes up fun names for everything! Yay!!! What am I going to wear? No time to go back to bed now!

Ack! My phone just rang and I thought it might be the interview people calling me to offer me their fabulous job at twice the pay because I'm just so groovy they couldn't help themselves (I get that a lot you know) but no. It was the Kohsuke. Which is good also but maybe not as good as the job offering interview people. What can I say? I like money. Okay, must go and find my zen before I barf.

Really, why am I such a spaz?

Stupid earthquakes!

I was jolted out of sleep last night by yet another frickin' earthquke! I'm so not a fan. Apparently it was only an aftershock from the bigger ones on Saturday but I'm just not sure how that works. In any case I'm done now.

I'm also done with hearing about the shinkansen (bullet train) that derailed during the earthquake. I mean, I understand that it's a big deal because it's the first time a shinkansen has derailed in the 40 years that they've been running here in Japan but seriously, how many times do we need to hear the analysis!? Nobody was injured. Not a single person. The train was passing almost directly over the earthquake epicenter and still it just popped off the track. It didn't break through the concrete barriers and hurtle off of the really high bridge like thingy it runs on plunging hundreds of passengers to their untimely deaths. No. It just sort of flopped off the track. It doesn't even look very damaged and yet we hear of nothing else. I could tell you all about the failsafe systems they have to prevent shinkansen tradgedies but I refuse! On principal! This bombardment of once interesting but now just aggrevating information stops here!!!!! I'm also quite sad because apparently I can no longer spell.

The news in Japan really annoys me. I like watching the news because I like to know what's going on in the world and they have this lovely dubbed news on when I get home from work which I watch pretty much everyday (unless I'm drunk or craving some crap tv as does happen) but everytime there's a disaster, no matter how minor, they talk about nothing else for days! And when I say nothing else, I mean NOTHING else! And they do it twice! They'll tell you the story and then say, "and now more about..." and they go over the exact same information again but with different people. Same dialogue and everything. I just don't understand. Maybe I'm missing something. Did you know that houses built before the 1980s are increasingly vulnerable to earthquakes? Especially wooden ones? Because I do. They've just said it 4 times in the past 10 minutes. Oh wait, it's not only old wooden buildings that are vulnerable. No, concrete can be damaged as well. Does this really surprise anyone? Is it really shocking, earth shattering news? Should we all move out of our crap apartments into new super swanky apartments? Oh wait, if I could afford to live in a super swanky new building what on earth would I be doing in my 1965 crap building in the first place!? Happy thoughts. Must think happy thoughts.

I think this earthquake thing has caused me mental damage. I'm vulnerable to that sort of thing. I think I heard somewhere that women born prior to 1980 are more vulnerable to mental damage due to unnecessary repetition. While it's a well known fact that women born before 1980 are more likely to be vulnerable to brain damage due to this repetition it also seems that women with green eyes are more seceptable than those with blue. However, while this is true that women with green eyes are more susceptible to this kind of mental damage caused by overwhelming amounts of mind numbing repetition than those with blue, women with blue eyes are not exempt from similar kinds of damage caused by ungodly, inhumane and completely overwhelming amounts of ridiculous repetition!!!! Kill me now.

Vacation

I've decided that I need a vacation. I'm just not a big fan of this everyday life crap. Especially when the everyday includes crap earthquakes like the one happening right now. Fuck. Anyway, it seems to have passed so I'll continue. Sorry, I'm a little strange. But I think you've probably gathered that by now. And I don't mean that in a bad way. I like the strange bits of myself. But lately I've found myself feeling more and more...average? No. Not average. It's just that my life doesn't feel sparkly right now. It feels routine. And while I am a big fan of routine in the abstract it's not so fun on a day to day basis. You know what I'm saying? Maybe not. I feel very dull. Not dull as in boring but dull as in not shiny or sparkly. You know, like all my sparkly coating has been rubbed off. Like how water wears down rocks until they have no bumpy, spiky bits. And I much prefer to feel all sparkly and spiky. Don't you?

Anyway, I need a vacation from my life. It would be marvelous if you could not only change your location when you go on vacation (tee hee, that rhymes) but also your self. That would be super fantastico. Yes. But back here in the real world (sorry, I got distracted there), I just want to go somewhere. I've never been anywhere. I've always been kind of nomadic but it hasn't taken me anywhere really exotic. Unless you count Japan. Which I guess I do. But other than that, nothing. I've lived in Duncan BC, Campbell River BC, St. Paul Alberta, Nanaimo BC, Quadra Island BC, Calgary Alberta, Halifax Nova Scotia, Vancouver BC (actually Burnaby but whatever!) and now Tokyo Japan. And I've never had a vacation. Not really. I went on a family vacation once to Kelowna and Penticton when I was 15 which was quite entertaining but not exactly exotic. I mean, I was 15 so I went to the mall and the skatepark and chatted up cute boys which is pretty much the same thing I did when I was at home. Not exactly a wild departure from the norm.

I'm thinking I'd like to go to Hong Kong and see the craziness, or Thailand to ride on elephants and visit ruins or China to see the great wall and the crazy finger looking mountains, or Vietnam to see the...actually I don't really know what there is in Vietnam but I'm reasonably sure it wouldn't be anything like anywhere I've been before. Or Moscow for the reasons I've already mentioned in past posts. Or Korea. Or Okinawa. Or Hokkaido. Yep. And then eventually I'd like to see Europe. And Australia and New Zealand. And maybe after that Africa. I'd also love to see the middle east but somehow that doesn't seem like such a good idea at the moment. In any event I obviously have to find myself a real job so I can sock away some money for my all new travelling lifestyle. And Mexico. Did I mention Mexico?

But for now I will settle for a hot bath (but not tonight because of the earthquake thing) with candles and wine. And snuggling the doglet while reading a good book. These are also good things. I may have to rearrange my furniture. Maybe buy some new curtains and a bed spread. I'm thinking...red. My apartment is striking me as having entirely too much brown. It needs some screaming red to liven things up. And maybe a few purple bits. And a painting or two. I wonder if the doglet would hair up my bedspread if it were velvet. I have a thing for red velvet. But I do not have a thing for dog hair. I'll have to find something velvety and rub Lilo on it to see what happens. It's a plan.

Holy crap.

That's all I have to say about the crazy earthquake action we've had here in Tokyo tonight. There were 3 large earthquakes in Niigata (about 200 km from Tokyo) within a span of about 40 minutes. And then there were aftershocks. Let me tell you, I'm not a big fan of any of it. Nope. None. The apartment has been shaking intermittently for about an hour now. I've packed a bag and am ready to rush out into the street should it escalate. Which it doesn't look like it will but I have no idea how people can claim to know things like that. Hence the bag.

Let me tell you a little bit about the earthquake thing. Lilo and I were watching the Day After Tomorrow (no more natural disaster movies for me for awhile!) when the first and I think biggest earthquake hit. Now let me stress that it wasn't all that big here in Tokyo. It was about a 3. Not so bad. However, tell that to my poor racing heart! I warn you, this account is going to be quite cheesy because I'm still a little shakey. Bear with me. First of all, time seems to slow down (for me anyway) during an earthquake. The biggest of the evening lasted for about a minute here but it seemed like every single second was articulated. It started out really slow and I thought maybe it was just in my head, like a dizzy spell or something and then it got stronger and stronger. The bookshelves were shaking and the broom that lives beside the fridge fell over and I thought for sure I was going to have a heart attack right then. Loud noises of any nature are cause for large amounts of stomache churning panic during an earthquake. For me anyway. Keep in mind, I am a total sissy. Totally. Anyway, I scooped up Lilo and headed toward the door because in our location they advise you to get out of the buildings and into the middle of the road or the parking lot out back because there aren't any really tall buildings around here so that's the safest place. In downtown Tokyo they advise you to stay inside because of the danger of falling glass from all of the giant buildings outside.

Anyway, the worst part for me is the rolling. You're on land. You're in a building. Yet it feels like you're on a boat and that's just not right. You'd think that having grown up on the west coast of Canada on boats and ferries and whatnot I'd be okay with that kind of motion but oh no. No, no, no. That motion is reserved for water in my mind. NOT land! I mean really.

That's about all I have to say. I'm a little wigged out right now so I'm going to watch another movie. But not a disaster movie. I'm going to watch About a Boy. As far as I can remember there is no scary or overly dramatic music in that one so I should be alright. Did I mention that the music playing during the movie when the earthquakes hit almost made me wet myself? Well it did. And not in a good way. Bah! I think I'll be safe with About a Boy. Lots of Elvis Costello and that sort of thing right? A little arty, indie type music. Sounds frickin' good to me. I was going to take a nice hot bath but I think I'll pass on that for tonight. Can you imagine being caught by a big ass earthquake while sitting nekkid in a tub?! I'd have to run out into the street in my birthday suit and that wouldn't be good for anyone. :-)

In summation...we are fine. Wigged out and a little jumpy but fine.

Woo hoo!

I was going through my old emails while drinking scandalous amounts of wine trying to sort out what to keep and what to delete and all that good stuff and I found this lovely quiz thingy and as most of you know I'm addicted to the quiz thingys so I decided to post it. Woo hoo!


1: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says:
"Girl, Interrupted, 1999. -Susanna Kaysen. (what can I say, it's actually a book or erotic short stories but it just wasn't a spicy page).

2: Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first? Window. This really isn't so exciting so far. Not even the wine can help me now.

3: What is the last thing you watched on TV?: Roswell. I'm a sucker for teen angst. Plus that Max guy takes off his shirt sometimes and it's lovely. I didn't know anyone who looked like that when I was in high school. Unless you were drunk. And squinted alot. I know, I tried.

4: WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what the time is: 2:30 am?

5: Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?: 1:57 am. I'm usually so good at the time guessing!! I blame the wine! It was the wine dammit!

6: With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?: Morcheeba, fridge humming (god I hate that sound - I always feel all cracked out and trailer park when I here it. What's that all about?), traffic (yes, at 2am there is traffic - I live in Tokyo), and the clock ticking. Not my biological clock either. My alarm clock. This is another sound that I despise. Grrr.

7: When did you last step outside? I took doglet for a walk around midnight. She likes the walking and if I take her out walking close to when I go to bed then she makes with the sleeping too and I like that!

Doing? Oh. I jumped the gun a little on that one. Can I blame the wine again?

8: Before you came to this website, what did you look at?: My email. I'm addicted. I check my email about a million times a day.

9: What are you wearing?: Really big, oversized hoodie Kohsuke's friend Kazuki gave me. Comfy.

10: Did you dream last night? Probably. I always dream but I don't remember much unless you ask me right away.

11: When did you last laugh? Maybe an hour ago. Lilo likes to freak out and when she does it involves flattening her ears, tucking her tail under her bum and racing laps around our tiny apartment. It's cracks me up every time.

12: What is on the walls of the room you are in? Bad textured japanese wallpaper (a staple here in Japan), pictures of friends and family, bulletin board with heaps of crazy stuff tacked to it, some shelves (cool 70s style square type shelves - I am so hip), a Vines poster (framed because I'm a grown-up now), wedding photo, photo my friend Shae gave me for my birthday (very cool even though she is not - tee hee - kidding!), Emily the Strange calendar and a poster for kids to help them learn their Hiragana (because maybe I'm not so grown up after all).

16: If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?: Today I'm thinking plane tickets to Moscow for me and some of my friends. Although maybe somewhere warmer would be better considering the season. No, I've always had this secret vision of myself wearing crazy furs (I know, I know, furs are bad but it's just a vision for chrissakes!) riding in a horse drawn carriage in some fabulous russian city with the fancy onion shaped domes in the background sipping some lovely red russian wine in the middle of winter with a light snow falling. I am such a dork. I should never be allowed to watch tv or movies ever again.


17: Tell me something about you that I don't know: I secretly long to be very, very stupid and very, very shockingly beautiful. So beautiful it makes your teeth hurt. Ridiculously good looking you might say (if you're a total dork and you've seen Zoolander about a hundred too many times).

What the?!?

What's with the no comments on my fabulous blog? I mean seriously people! I feel like I'm talking to myself here. Which actually, isn't so bad. I'm kind of used to it really. I talk to myself all the time. What's really bad is that recently I've found myself taking to myself in public without being entirely aware of it. Spooky. Give me a herd of cats and a long black skirt (already have one actually) and I'll be set. The Mad Cat Lady. The guy who rides around my neighbourhood in a bright yellow suit with a bright pink tie and a doll dressed in matching colours in his bicycle basket can be my boyfriend. He's a little old for me but his daring fashion sense makes up for it.

The more that I think about it the more sense it makes. I could dress Lilo in a matching outfit! She could wear little strap on wings and horns or a gargoyle suit and I could wear all black (many shaggy layers) and maybe a really big, floppy velvet hat. A fusia hat. Because who doesn't love a cat lady with a fusia hat? And it'll match my boyfriend's tie. See, I'm thinking. Lilo's horns could also be fusia. Or hot pink. Is there a difference? Because in my head there isn't but my head is a...well, not exactly a hotbed of logic.

Okay bye.

I don't understand.

Okay, so as many of you know, I love Pretty in Pink. Actually, I love almost any John Hughes movie but it's Pretty in Pink that I'm concerned with now. And I have an issue. Here it is. When Andy and Blaine meet up at the prom and she's wearing that awful dress that she made herself and he's looking like death in a really bad wig because the scene had to be reshot long after the film was finished because audiences didn't like the original ending he says to her "you said you couldn't be with someone who didn't believe in you, I believed in you. You just didn't believe in me." but what is he talking about? Okay, so she had a little hissy fit in the hall at school with the "what about prom?!" screeching but he had been ducking her calls and pretending he didn't see her in the parking lot and that sort of thing so really, what was she supposed to think? And then instead of talking to her about whatever was up his butt he makes up this story about how he asked someone else to the prom a couple of months before that and forgot. I mean seriously. What's up with that? So his little speech at the prom kind of picks my ass. Do you see what I'm saying here? Oh and I also hate the bit where on their first date he wants to take her to a party and she doesn't want to go because his friends are jerks (hot jerks but jerks nonetheless...mmm...james spader...) and he says "we can hang out with your friends, go crawl under a rock or something." Would you date someone who thinks your friends are something that lives under a rock? Anyway, as I said before I have too much time on my hands and not enough cds so I end up having dvds playing in the background instead of music and this is what comes of that sort of thing. Nothing good. I have to shower now.

Way too much time on my hands

So my friend Marla and I were just emailing about grades and school and stuff and how we were (and really still are actually) all about the grading and I've come to the conclusion that I miss school. I think that people would be much more productive at work if only the employers would adopt a grading system. It would give you something to strive for. Job satisfaction my ass. I'm all about the grades. And they would have to be standard type grades. At Nova we have E for excellent, G for good, S for satisfactory and P for poor but I just can't seem to get too excited about it. Ok, that's not entirely true. I love review time because I get almost all Gs and Es and one P for attendance because when I'm sick I just stay home. If you miss like 2 days (or maybe 3, who's counting really?) in a 6 month period you automatically get a P. So it's a throw away. Like science or PE. Because I didn't like science much. I refused to dissect things. The cute boy who sat in front of me dissected the eyeball for me. I used to command that kind of power over boys. It was great. Anyway, I think Nova should adopt a more traditional grading scheme. There's nothing more satisfying than an A+. Although I think that an A++ is just silly. I've given this way too much thought.

There's something wrong with me...

Seriously. There really is. It's the most beautiful day today...sunny and clear with a lovely breeze. You know, it's the kind of day that makes you want to run outside in your underpants and spin around in the street like a loonie ballerina. You know what I mean right? Right?! Whatever, anyway...it's frickin' gorgeous. And you know what I want to do? I mean other than the underpants spinning thing? I want to go shopping. Isn't that sad? Not hiking or boating or going to a park (although there is this really nice park in Harajuku about 5 minutes from the section where I like to go shopping...) just shopping. It's like a disease. But I can control myself. I'm good like that. I'm going to spend the remainder of my pre-work bliss cleaning my apartment like a reasonable, responsible adult. Woo hoo! Go me!

Ooo! And there's a fun new australian guy at work who amused me for...minutes (it's not an exciting job so the minutes of amusement between the ages of boredom are like gold I tell you! gold!!) yesterday by singing the theme songs of Degrassi Junior High, Saved by the Bell and a variety of other wonderful yet cheesy old tv shows from the golden days of my youth. Well, maybe not so golden when I think about it. But whatever. I appreciate anyone who can sing me some theme songs. Especially while wearing a suit and looking all professional and grown-up like. He's a keeper. So now we have the texan who fills my movie quotation quota (favourites are Billy Madison and Dazed and Confused) the new aussie with the theme songs, the other aussie who is just a total nutbar (in a good way), the irishman whose accent makes everything sound just a little bit funnier, the canadian who makes up wonderful names for everyone and everything (you know who you are) and the kiwi who is just plain retarded (and you know you are!). It's a good bunch. I'm sad that Laurie is leaving (Saturday is her last day) and Shae is also on her way out (November) but at least for now all is well. And amusing.

We have a new canadian girl coming in on the weekend. We'll have to see how it goes. She's from Toronto and you know how those people are...tee hee. Don't hurt me Moody. Anyway, I'm still looking to transfer out of my current branch to one a little closer to home but it's not seeming quite so urgent anymore.

Oh hey, I taught a couple of group kids classes for a little kids english school last week and it was great! I love kids! They're actually fun! Who knew? I always thought it would be like one of those nightmares where you're standing in front of a crowd of really small people and they're all laughing at you and you don't know why and then you realise that you've left your pants off or your underwear are on the outside or your skirt is tucked into your pantyhose which would be quite a feat since I never actually wear pantyhose as I"m pretty sure they were invented by the devil. Or one of his minions at the very least. But yeah. It was great! We sang retarded songs and played some games and did some silly dances and a puppet show (I was a shark) and made some paper bag creatures with ribbony arms. It was kind of like being drunk (what with the singing and crazy dancing and running around like a retard, not to mention the puppet show. Who doesn't love a drunken puppet show?) but without the hangover. Or the barfing. It was good. And not even one of them tried to bite me (I was pretty convinced beforehand that they had fangs and would lunge at me given the opportunity).

And I'm not bored today! Woo hoo! I'm feeling downright frisky! Not frisky in the icky pervy way mind you...just footloose and fancy free. What does that actually mean? And why am I talking like someone's great grandma or aunt or someone else smelling of moth balls and potpurri? Ooo! Pretty in Pink is on and it's getting to the part where Molly Ringwald has the big freakout in the hallway at Blaine about the prom "what about prom Blaine!?" "couldn't we just talk about this after school?" "NO! what about prom?!" and then Ducky gets into the big fight with James Spader and it's a total spazfest and I love it. So I have to go.

I am so bored

It's true. I'm so bored that I'm almost too bored even to talk about how bored I am. It's just so boring.

I'm waiting for Kohsuke to come home from work and amuse me but it's not looking so good. It's already 11:51pm and he's still not home so I'm thinking that maybe I should just go to sleep. It passes the time. I don't know what it is about tonight. Usually I'm quite content to just watch some tv or read or draw or play with the doglet but today it seems that I'm just too bored to focus on any of it. So bored. I can't help but think that if there were a Starbucks downstairs my life would be better. I'd probably still be bored but at least I'd be bored in a comfy armchair sipping a Chai Latte. And that's the kind of boredom I can handle. Mmm...chai...I think I'm going to go make a cup of my cheap chai knockoff beverage I bought at Costco. Mmm...cheap chai knockoff...yummy. Actually, it is pretty yummy.

I wish I had something interesting to say here (but probably not as much as you do! tee hee). But no.

Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

So bored.

I have to sleep now. I'm so bored I can't stand it anymore. And that's pretty frickin' bored.

On a side note let me tell you that there's not much in the world that's quite as gross as a dog chewing it's own ass while sitting on your lap. And I know this from experience. Oh god. Now I'm grossed out and bored. Will this night never end?!

On the Up Side

I was so busy with my tirade-y post that I forgot to mention that I just got a really great design project last week! Kohsuke's boss has contracted me to build their company site! Woo hoo! He's sort of got a collection of businesses that he owns or co-owns so I'll be creating 4 separate sites altogether. They are QT Sue (hair salon), Hosokawa (hair and make-up artist), Godot (copywriting/advertising company) and WPG (design firm). I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. Last week was our first meeting so things right now are in the early stages of development and planning which I love. It's nice to be working on a "real" design project again. Not that I don't love doing illustration stuff, because I do, but this just seems a little more substantial. You know what I mean? Anyway, that's my news. Woo hoo!

Draaaaaamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Well, we've had some drama with a capital "D" here over the last week. And you know, I'm not such a big fan of the drama as I once was. Gone is the girl who was voted most likely to start a riot. Who knew? Anyway, there were some unkind (but too, too true) things said about a girl (let's just leave it at that shall we) on another journal written by...we'll call her Suzy...and myself (when will I learn to keep my bitchiness to myself?!) that was found by said girl and...yeah. Drama. She printed out the offending post and took it to work (not my school thankfully) where she showed it to anyone and everyone including her boss (who does that? I mean seriously?) and now it's a big controversy. Luckily (for me) I'm not the focal point of the outrage. Just a footnote actually. But unfortunately the fallout has affected (or is it effected?) the boyfriend of...Suzy...in that no one at his workplace will speak to him. I feel like smack! Bang! I'm back in high school again! "So and so said something mean (but true dammit!!!) about me so let's not be friends with her or anyone who's even remotely associated with her!" Bah. He didn't even do anything! Whatever. Like oh my god, I'm like WAY too old for this! Like whatever. And now I have the guilt. Because she was never supposed to read the snarkiness. It was supposed to be private and not actually hurtful to any of the parties involved (I'm a bitch yes, but I'm not usually a malicious one) but no. Of course she had to go and find it. I don't like the guilt. It makes me feel all icky on the insides. Grrr.

You would think that having turned 30 just 9 days ago I would be a little more mature and whatnot wouldn't you? Maybe that should be my I just turned 30 life altering resolution. No more random meanness. Well, that and getting rid of my giant butt. We'll see how it goes. I'll keep you posted. :-)

Supercalifragilisticexpiallafun.

So my birthday festivities were fun. On Saturday night Laurie, Ian, Moody and IanP came over with the prezzies (mmm...prezzies) and we went to the little bar downstairs (finally) where they had an all you can drink special (2 hours for 2,000 yen which is about $20) and there was a cute little chocolate cake with 30 candles on it. It was a fire hazard. There were also some tequila shots which was very upsetting. I traded a drawing for a little virgin mary statue that they had in the bathroom (they had 4 and that's just greedy) and the owner of the bar kept giving me additional free drinks and a bottle of sparkling wine as a present. It was really nice. Shae couldn't make it which was sad but we decided maybe a good thing because if she had been there I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have made it to bed anytime before 4am and the next day would've been a nightmare. That Shae is a bad influence. :-)

The next day we took a bus (1 hour 40 min) to Fujikyu Highland Park. It rained torrentially for most of the day so we had to stick to the indoor rides for the most part. We went on some lame indoor roller coaster-ish ride with laser guns and robots to shoot (sounds cooler than it actually was), a horror sound show called the Execution where we had to sit inside a cell in a chair shaped vaguely like an electric chair with head phones on and then there were weird sounds like heavy breathing in your ear and strangling sounds and at one point a chain saw. It was a little freaky but I think it would've been better if it had been pitch black inside because then the expectation of someone sneaking up behind you would be really awful. But there was dim lighting and you could clearly see that there was no one there. We also went on one of those water log ride type things which was fantastic. I went twice! It was so huge and there was so much water!!! Loved it. We also went to the haunted hospital but they have this movie they show you before they send you into the hospital and about half way through it I realised that there was no way I could do it. As did Laurie. So we both freaked out and ran out like the yellow bellied sissies that we are. And I will NEVER go back there. Shae, Ian and Laurie continued on for about 20 minutes before Shae left and then Ian and Kohsuke finished. Apparently Shae was only about 5 or 10 minutes away from the end when she stopped but she thought she was only halfway through (it usually takes about 45 minutes to get through so I guess they did a good job) the maze and couldn't face the thought of another 20. She said it was the most horrible, terrifying thing she's ever seen. Ian was shaking like a leaf when he came out and Kohsuke was grinning like a crazy person. Let me just interject that it actually smelled like a real hospital. The clincher for me not going on was the numerous signs in the movie room warning us not to stand at any time during the movie and the large holes in the ceiling above us. Wrapped up bodies dropped down from the holes when the movie ended. I have this information second hand because I was already safely in the gift shop by then. Seriously...the movie had the horrible twitchy zombie looking people and people in body bags sitting up and all sorts of gross Ring like stuff. I just couldn't take it. It's strange because even now I think to myself that I'd really like to go back and try again but I know that I'd never be able to get through it. It's a maze and people actually chase you. Ack!

Then at about 6:30ish the rain stopped and most of the rides opened up. One of the coasters stayed closed because it was too dangerous with the wet but most things opened. I went on a crazy ride that flips you around upside down and backwards and forwards and so on and it was frickin' great. I'm so going back on that again. And there were the tea cups like at Disney, bumper cars, a crazy swing thingy like at the PNE in Vancouver, And some other small rides. I chickened out once again when it came time to ride the other big roller coaster. It only opened long enough for about 4 or 5 rides to go through and I just couldn't do it. I need time for these things. I was freaked out on the way up and my chickening out was finalised when I saw people getting off the coaster in tears. Big guys shaking like little kids. Shae came off looking quite wobbly and Kohsuke was grinning as usual. Next time I'm going to try to work my way up to the coaster. Maybe I'll go on the crazy spinny thing a couple of times to get worked up and then get on the coaster. When you're afraid of heights these things take a lot of planning and effort. And I'm REALLY afraid of heights.

Then yesterday on my actual birthday I did nothing. We both had to work so the day was just a normal day and then I got word that I'd been turned down for full time AGAIN despite the fact that I only applied for it this time because the head teacher at my school, the area manager and the japanese manager asked me to because some of our teachers are leaving and they wanted me to go full time because they know me and I'm a good teacher which is better than just risking it with a new person. Funny. When I renewed my contract they told me to wait 6 months and then apply for full time when my attendance record had improved which would be about December but then they asked me to apply early because of the reason I mentioned and also because around December there is always a huge influx of teachers due to Nova's recruitment schedule so it would be difficult to give me a full time position. But no. So I'm taking it as a sign. And a bit of an insult. I wish people would stop setting me up for this crap. Last time I was assured that my attendance issues in the first half of my first contract were not bad enough to warrant denying me full time and then I was denied. And now this. SO I think I'm done. I'm going to a meeting today for a big freelance web design contract which is good so if I get it I think I'll refrain from throwing myself against the brick wall that is Nova head office again. Part time is good enough if I can keep the freelance work coming. Needless to say I felt so crappy by the time I was finished my shift I just went home and had a bath instead of going out for yakiniku as we'd planned. Not such a good day really. But the weekend was fun.

Okay, lunchtime now!

Meowmeowmeowmeow.

The weather in Tokyo is so confusing. When I left for Canada it was in the upper 20s which felt more like the 30s because of the deathly humidity and when I came back...same. Then a few days later it's brrrsville. Which is not a bad thing in my opinion because I enjoy not sweating as much as the next girl (maybe more even, I mean there's no accounting for some people's tastes.)and then it was sticky again. And then for the past few days it was lovely and cool and rainy (yes, I'm an island girl...I like the rain) and now today is like the perfect summer day! It's lovely. Not at all fall like. Very confusing. I mean, we have weather swings on the west coast all the time but here they just seem a whole lot more dramamtic. Oh god. For the rest of my life, no matter where I am I'm going to be one of those people that wander around saying, "no, it's not the heat, it's the humidity that makes it unbearable." I hate those people. Gah!

Today's been a pretty good day so far. I woke up early after having a really crappy night's sleep but oddly enough I feel pretty good. It must be the incessant cheerfulness of this damn lovely day. So yeah, I lounged about in bed with my book for quite some time (I'm a big ol' geek - there's nothing better than lounging with a good book) then I washed the dog (actually quite amusing), watched some Buffy the Vampire Slayer (again with the geek) and now I'm emailing and blogging (I really hate that word) and listening to Duran Duran. And what may I ask is better than Duran Duran? Ooo...and when Kohsuke went to do the laundry ( I don't do laundry) he found that someone had left a bunch of really funky pottery planters and stuff outside with a sign saying please take me or whatever (I'm taking his word for it...it was in japanese so it could've said "please don't steal my handmade pottery passed down through my family for generations and generations" I really don't know) so now I have a bunch of groovy planters. It's almost like a special birthday present from the gods. Although one would hope that if the gods were going to be giving out prezzies they'd go with cash. Or diamonds. I have a thing for diamonds. And then I had birthday McDonalds for lunch which differs from regular McDonalds in that it has no calories. Everybody knows that.

So tonight I have no idea what's happening because Kohsuke has been toying with me. I love surprises you see and part of what I love about surprises is trying to figure them out. And I'm usually pretty good at that sort of thing because I'm all about the surprises (but mine are kind of mean...I had Kohsuke completely convinced that none of his friends were going to be able to come out for his birthday this year and he was totally bummed for days) but this time I can't really figure out what's going on for sure because everytime I ask him something he says "yeah, sure" in the exact same tone of voice. I'm pretty sure people are just coming over here but maybe not. And tomorrow I'm almost 100% positive we're going to Fujikyu Highlands Park which has the largest haunted house in the world (it's actually an abandoned hospital theme so I may wet myself because japanese haunted houses are WAY scarier than regular haunted houses, Virve back me up here! and hospitals are scary already). And one of the tallest roller coasters. Did I mention I'm terrified of heights? I just managed to get to the point where I can keep my eyes open on the Disney roller coasters. I would say that this is a definite step up from those. I may pass out. It's the part where the cart or whatever you call it starts climbing that really gets to me. That horrible clicking sound! It starts out fast and then gets slower and slower as though the cart might not be able to make it...maybe there are too many people, maybe it's too heavy for the safety or maybe...yeah. And then there's that horrible pause as the cart goes over the hump, before gravity takes hold...gah! It freaks me right out.

Here's an unofficial site about the haunted hospital...

http://www.dafe.org/attractions/walkthroughs/fujikyu/fujikyu.htm

And here's a crazy site some guy made where he took a video camera onto a bunch of different roller coasters and videotaped the ride. The Fujikyu coasters are on here too! Turn up the sound. It sounds like some of these people were almost as scared as I'll be. If that's where we're really going. I just went to the sight to have a look at some of the coasters again and I think I may throw up. I'm really the hugest sissy. I looked at one of the coasters they have at the Tokyo Dome amusement park and I have never seen anything so horrible in my entire life. Never.

http://www.asovini.com/screamer/e/

Alright. I have to go throw up now. See ya.

Impending Doom...

So in about a week I'll be geriatric. Bring on the depends and the menthol cigarettes. And don't forget the bifocals. On the upside I'll finally be able to dye my hair green or purple without all the "looks" from passersby. They'll just chalk it up to the whimsy of the elderly woman. Maybe I'll stop wearing a bra. I'll be one of "those" women. You know who I'm talking about...no bra, t-shirt tucked into their waistband as a substitute. Mmm...sexy.

And I've been doing that thing where you take stock of your life (ack! who ever decided that was a good thing to do?) and all I can think of was that line in Grosse Point Blank where Minnie Driver's character says of an impending high school reunion and the inward reflection that these kinds of things tend to generate, "leave your live stock alone people." It's kind of fun though...I had this plan in high school (because you always have to have a plan) of things I wanted to have done by the time I was 30...so what can I remember? Well, I was positive that 25 would be the perfect age to breed. In my mind I'd be finished whatever schooling and travelling I needed to do (including at least a year spent in Tokyo so at least I'm sort of the right track there) and would then begin my "adult" life of children and purchasing (home, car, etc). My goal was to be living in Vancouver, New York or Italy and working as a designer (either a fashion designer or advertising). Beyond that...I can't remember much. Must be all those drugs I did in the 90s. Tee hee.

But whatever. The one thing that kind of picks my ass about myself is that there are too many things I want to do. I don't have a singular drive. Which is both good and bad I guess. Good because I get to do a variety of things and I seldom feel really trapped by life (it's a horrible feeling and I can't imagine having to feel that way everyday) and bad because I haven't found any one thing to devote my time and energy to. At the moment I'm working as an english teacher, taking on freelance illustration work for a children's english school (educational materials for children aged 4 and under), working on another freelance job building a corporate website and semi-unified identity package for WPG, the design company Kohsuke works for, studying japanese and working on some side projects of my own (which include gre study and graduate school prep) which I don't want to talk about anymore in case I jinx them. Because I'm supersticious (sp?) like that. I enjoy doing all of those things but not any one thing stands out as the cat's ass if you know what I'm saying (and who decided that cat's asses were a good thing?).

Also, back in high school (and college and university) I never actually envisioned myself being married. Not really my thing I thought, but it's good. Who knew? No kids on the horizon but we've got a cute little dog (again who knew I could love a little dog? traditionally I'm all about the golden retrievers) and that's more than enough at this point. I like the little half-japanese babies but I'm not so sure I want one myself. Maybe later. When I've lost my desire to sleep. Or have anything even remotely resembling a social life. Not that I do now really, but there's always the option. This is important. :-)

My point? I have none. Or maybe I did but I've already forgotten because I'm so old. The memory is the first thing to go. Well, that and bladder control. Tee hee. I'm kidding. I'm surprisingly not bothered by the impending 30. I joke about the depends and the whatnot but I'm pretty satisfied by where my life has gone so far. I think I secretly had this fear that as you inch up on 30 you inevitably become obsessed with mortgages and mini-vans and babies and all those really grown-up things that I've never been particularly interested in and you begin obsessively searching for wrinkles and gray hairs and lose your sense of fun (because really, a lot of people do). And if it makes you happy then woo hoo! But not for me. No, no. It's all going to be okay...I'm hip. I'm with it. (Dukka, dukka, dukka...).

Anyway...I still have a week left before the big 30 (ok, 6 days but who's counting?) so there's still time for my migration and nesting instinct to kick in and awaken in me an overwhelming longing for the suburbs (and don't forget the mini-van) so I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it I'm really quite fond of this japanese car called the Cube which is kind of like a mini-van but it's square (hence the name) and has this really cool back window that wraps around the side of the car (I will NOT refer to it as a mini-van) so as to reduce the blind spot for the driver. And it comes in fun colours. Kohsuke says I can't have one because it would make me cry on the highway as a giant cube on wheels is so not aerodynamic. But my thinking is why limit yourself to one car? Why not a cube for looking cute in and a sportscar for driving on the highway? Seriously? Variety is the spice of life. We could have custom flames painted onto the sides of the cube. I'm going to stop now.

Ooo...and I'm stoked about my birthday celebrations because Kohsuke has some sort of surprise all planned for this weekend and I'm all aflutter because I love surprises!!! Especially birthday surprises!! I'm so excited I'm actually bouncing. Don't worry, it'll pass. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhh! Birthday!!!!!!

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-ee! Happy birthday to me!

Did I mention I'm excited?