Passing time and gas at Koga 2nd
It's scary how cold it is here in the morning. I wear my pea coat like a life jacket, and other teacher's occasionaly comment on it, saying how nice it looks, when in reality are probably just jealous of it's seeming warmth. They literally have furnaces in the rooms to keep it warm in here, and teachers huddle around the boiling pots like bums to flaming garbage can in a backstreet. It's better now though, the air is thick with heat since I sit closest to the contraption, possibly the greatest single advantage to this seat, aside from the fact it is across from the uniform check station, which in it's own perverse way has it's kicks.
I'm hungry, but in 35 minutes I'll walk downstairs and the "bread ladies" will be here hawking all sorts of confections. I personally always get curry rice from one woman, then I meander over to the lady on the right and purchase a potato croquet and if I am lucky, a pumpkin pastery. They are limited and rare though, so I make sure to savor them. The drink man generally looks on with a mild scowl hidden behind a bored look. I never purchase his drinks so I suppose his scowl could root from that.
Twice today I have been approached by students who have seen me with a a certain girl outside of school, which is always interesting. It's annoying when cute teachers are around when this happens, I would wish for them to imagine me as a singular, strong entity, braving the composite Japanese micro-verse, not as some lecherous asian girl crazed foreigner here only to get his kicks. I suppose I'm a bit of the former and guilty of some of the later. But no one is a Form, no one is an ideal, so I suppose I should just shove the facade and laugh about it, which I try to.
I really need to have some fancy occasions to go to after work. I don't of course, so many of my ties are in disuse. It's funny, before I go to bed I have in my head an idea of what I will wear the next morning; maybe the orange tie with the dark slacks, white shirt or blue? But without fail I awake and it is cold and I am tired and I'm running late and oh look the cordoroys still have the belt in them that would go okay with a sweater not enough time to get a button down on under it so no tie just sweater okay lets do it. Oh how the fashionably foward mighty have fallen.
I also don't understand the obsession with lab-coats here. As I turn my head I note three teachers that have them on, none of them educators of the sciences. Apparently it's status quo for a majority of teachers to wear a lab coat if they are so inclined. And they are inclined. I find this to be a wanton misuse of lab-coats; it really distingushed those of the scientific profession. I remember thinking when I first arrived in Japan, "Damn, there are a lot of science teachers." I was wrong of course.
I am in particularly stunned with the female students here and how their lower extremities brave the cold. Maybe it's just my imagination, but it almost feels as if the skirts get shorter in winter. I think I havea real answer though. They SEEM shorter because they never changed the length of the skirt, but instead opt to wear layer upon layer on their upper body. A common dressing I have seen is as follows; school shirt, sweater, cardigan, school jacket, short skirt, socks, end. The female youth of Japan seems utterly determined to show off their thighs, temprate zone be damned. And it's not just this school, it is all schools. I crap you not, there are commericalized aspects to this scenerio. You see, while in the halls, it's more short skirts than RIAA lawsuits, but in the class girls usually throw a blanket over their legs to keep warm. that's right, rolling the skirt down is too much trouble, so a small blanket takes it's temporary place. And these are not haphzardly found blankets. They have snap buttons so that the girls can in fact wear them around their waist, unemcumbered and warrm when they walk around the classroom. They are of course adorn with Disney parafemelia ad nausium. So you heard that right, Disney (or perhaps those with licensing agreements with them in Japan) make mini-blankets for schoolgirls with the specific purpose of using said blanket as a temporary longer skirt. I suppose one could call that a niche market. Or just another amazing way in which Japan boggles my mind. Still, on this particular point I reserve the right NOT to complain. Something other than Disney would be nice, though.
Tonight I'll probably go indoor rock climbing again, or at least hope to. It's a little expensive at 1500 yen a pop, but it's challenging and allows me access to a social network of fun Japanese people. So I figure it's a worthy investment of time and money. More-so than say playing Magna Carta: Tears of Blood which I am sure one day I will use as a target while I skeet shoot. I haven't played that game in months and the shear thought of it disturbs me. I realize it's a Korean game and that sort of makes shit clear. I mean I could imagine Kim Jong Ill making demands on how the game should be, and then the final scatitized product found it's way into my Playstation, and it's subverted context and plotholes were all a part of some great plan of the Imperial Leader to frustrate and unfocus American minds. Mission accomplish I suppose. Anyways Rock climbing, can't wait to do that again. Something that is both humbling and builds self esteem. My body loves it.
Speaking of my body I think I need a facial. I know I know, I just opened myself up to a whole new operand of jokes and accusations but hold back the star fleet of amusement for just a moment and hear me out. I have these odd white thingies under my eyelids that I hate. I wonder if they could take care of that? Also, I dunno, that's about it. I never thought about one before, but after reading about Bateman getting one in American Psycho it's been on my list of things to get done. Yet another step into metrosexuality. Oh well. I doubt I will even have the time for this though, because I would only really get it done state-side, since I want to understand what they hell they are doing.
Reminds me, when I get home, the very next day I have to go to the dentist. Which sucks, because I know for a fact they need to take apart a cavity in my back molar. Which sucks, because I wanted nothing more than to eat up the foods I could not sample here in Japan; Smokin Al's BBQ, Pita House Gyros, Salsa Salsa buritos, Good Steer Cheese Dreams... the list goes on. I know it sounds silly, but the whole Pavlov response is what gets me. I mean my mom used to buy these kick ass stuffed pork chops. Amazing stuff. Just juicy, tasty, perfect. Of course the last cavity I got like, 5 years ago, was the same night my mom prepared those bad boys. I remember relentlessly chowing down on them, even though the pain was acute. To this day now, whenever I think of those porkchops, however delicious they may have been, I get a dull pain in the back of my mouth. I now fear this will be the case with all my favorite foods. Curse you cavities.
Well I really have gone on at length, and I should prep for the next class. I'm sure I'll talk to you all later. And no, I am too lazy to spell check, sorry about that.
I'm hungry, but in 35 minutes I'll walk downstairs and the "bread ladies" will be here hawking all sorts of confections. I personally always get curry rice from one woman, then I meander over to the lady on the right and purchase a potato croquet and if I am lucky, a pumpkin pastery. They are limited and rare though, so I make sure to savor them. The drink man generally looks on with a mild scowl hidden behind a bored look. I never purchase his drinks so I suppose his scowl could root from that.
Twice today I have been approached by students who have seen me with a a certain girl outside of school, which is always interesting. It's annoying when cute teachers are around when this happens, I would wish for them to imagine me as a singular, strong entity, braving the composite Japanese micro-verse, not as some lecherous asian girl crazed foreigner here only to get his kicks. I suppose I'm a bit of the former and guilty of some of the later. But no one is a Form, no one is an ideal, so I suppose I should just shove the facade and laugh about it, which I try to.
I really need to have some fancy occasions to go to after work. I don't of course, so many of my ties are in disuse. It's funny, before I go to bed I have in my head an idea of what I will wear the next morning; maybe the orange tie with the dark slacks, white shirt or blue? But without fail I awake and it is cold and I am tired and I'm running late and oh look the cordoroys still have the belt in them that would go okay with a sweater not enough time to get a button down on under it so no tie just sweater okay lets do it. Oh how the fashionably foward mighty have fallen.
I also don't understand the obsession with lab-coats here. As I turn my head I note three teachers that have them on, none of them educators of the sciences. Apparently it's status quo for a majority of teachers to wear a lab coat if they are so inclined. And they are inclined. I find this to be a wanton misuse of lab-coats; it really distingushed those of the scientific profession. I remember thinking when I first arrived in Japan, "Damn, there are a lot of science teachers." I was wrong of course.
I am in particularly stunned with the female students here and how their lower extremities brave the cold. Maybe it's just my imagination, but it almost feels as if the skirts get shorter in winter. I think I havea real answer though. They SEEM shorter because they never changed the length of the skirt, but instead opt to wear layer upon layer on their upper body. A common dressing I have seen is as follows; school shirt, sweater, cardigan, school jacket, short skirt, socks, end. The female youth of Japan seems utterly determined to show off their thighs, temprate zone be damned. And it's not just this school, it is all schools. I crap you not, there are commericalized aspects to this scenerio. You see, while in the halls, it's more short skirts than RIAA lawsuits, but in the class girls usually throw a blanket over their legs to keep warm. that's right, rolling the skirt down is too much trouble, so a small blanket takes it's temporary place. And these are not haphzardly found blankets. They have snap buttons so that the girls can in fact wear them around their waist, unemcumbered and warrm when they walk around the classroom. They are of course adorn with Disney parafemelia ad nausium. So you heard that right, Disney (or perhaps those with licensing agreements with them in Japan) make mini-blankets for schoolgirls with the specific purpose of using said blanket as a temporary longer skirt. I suppose one could call that a niche market. Or just another amazing way in which Japan boggles my mind. Still, on this particular point I reserve the right NOT to complain. Something other than Disney would be nice, though.
Tonight I'll probably go indoor rock climbing again, or at least hope to. It's a little expensive at 1500 yen a pop, but it's challenging and allows me access to a social network of fun Japanese people. So I figure it's a worthy investment of time and money. More-so than say playing Magna Carta: Tears of Blood which I am sure one day I will use as a target while I skeet shoot. I haven't played that game in months and the shear thought of it disturbs me. I realize it's a Korean game and that sort of makes shit clear. I mean I could imagine Kim Jong Ill making demands on how the game should be, and then the final scatitized product found it's way into my Playstation, and it's subverted context and plotholes were all a part of some great plan of the Imperial Leader to frustrate and unfocus American minds. Mission accomplish I suppose. Anyways Rock climbing, can't wait to do that again. Something that is both humbling and builds self esteem. My body loves it.
Speaking of my body I think I need a facial. I know I know, I just opened myself up to a whole new operand of jokes and accusations but hold back the star fleet of amusement for just a moment and hear me out. I have these odd white thingies under my eyelids that I hate. I wonder if they could take care of that? Also, I dunno, that's about it. I never thought about one before, but after reading about Bateman getting one in American Psycho it's been on my list of things to get done. Yet another step into metrosexuality. Oh well. I doubt I will even have the time for this though, because I would only really get it done state-side, since I want to understand what they hell they are doing.
Reminds me, when I get home, the very next day I have to go to the dentist. Which sucks, because I know for a fact they need to take apart a cavity in my back molar. Which sucks, because I wanted nothing more than to eat up the foods I could not sample here in Japan; Smokin Al's BBQ, Pita House Gyros, Salsa Salsa buritos, Good Steer Cheese Dreams... the list goes on. I know it sounds silly, but the whole Pavlov response is what gets me. I mean my mom used to buy these kick ass stuffed pork chops. Amazing stuff. Just juicy, tasty, perfect. Of course the last cavity I got like, 5 years ago, was the same night my mom prepared those bad boys. I remember relentlessly chowing down on them, even though the pain was acute. To this day now, whenever I think of those porkchops, however delicious they may have been, I get a dull pain in the back of my mouth. I now fear this will be the case with all my favorite foods. Curse you cavities.
Well I really have gone on at length, and I should prep for the next class. I'm sure I'll talk to you all later. And no, I am too lazy to spell check, sorry about that.