I aten't dead
Long time no post!
After the summer, I was kind of at a loss for anything to post about. September was mostly "It's too damn hot", October was mostly working on my Halloween costume, November and December were busy with other things, and I'm behind on most of the shows I watch. I could never come up with anything to talk about that internet folks would be interested in or IRL folks didn't know already.
Random points of interest from the last few months, for anyone who cares.
Summer trip was fantastic. Comic Con was awesome, and I had a blast hanging out with levitatethis and her friends. Highlights: random commissioned art, Mythbusters panel, camping out for the Supernatural panel, going out for "we survived Comic Con 2010!" celebratory pizza after it was all over.
Less fun: having no hotel for my last night there. I ended up falling asleep in the lobby of their hotel until almost midnight, then getting the nice guy at the front desk to direct me to an all-night cafe I could sit around in until my flight the next morning. Which ended up being a horrible day of running around airports almost missing flights because of long lineups. Having a panic attack at an airport security lineup probably qualifies as my worst travel experience ever. (By some incredible miracle, the guy behind me in line was an EMT on vacation. So it wasn't as bad as it COULD have been.)
Anyway, travel issues aside, I had a lovely summer trip home. Saw friends and family. Went to my friend's wedding. Stuffed myself with food I can't get in Japan. It's good to be home, even if it's only for a while. Two weeks home wasn't nearly enough, but it's all I could get before heading back to Japan.
Did I mention it was hot here in September? BECAUSE IT WAS.
I've been trying to get out with people more this year, rather than just waiting for big get-togethers to happen. I don't really have a knack for planning things, or convincing people to do stuff, so I've gotten complacent about just doing stuff by myself until I get an invite somewhere. Still haven't turned that around, but I've been trying. And making an effort to go to more ALT events. During the fall I went on an overnight camping trip, went to the Halloween party, went caroling to do some fundraising, and two Thanksgiving events. That's something, I guess.
Christmas around here usually means everyone takes off for their home countries, or goes overseas. I've gotten used to just going to Tokyo by myself and wandering around for a few days looking for interesting things to do and stocking up on english books and games. This year... Very different. One of my friends decided to have a dinner at his house on Christmas day, so I pushed back my Tokyo trip. And of course, Christmas day ended up being one of the worst blizzards I've seen since I came to Japan.
Driving two hours in the storm to eat some good food and play Rock Band... Totally worth it.
I skipped off to Tokyo the next day. And for once, almost everyone I knew was going there at the same time. It was nice to be able to plan a day by texting everyone with a quick "Who wants to get dinner later?" or "I'm in Shinjuku, anyone want to go to the Square-Enix store?". Ended up having a lovely evening of dinner and karaoke in Akihabara, a nice evening of Irish pub food and arcade adventures, many and various excusions in Shinjuku, a day at Disney Sea, and a desperately overpriced dinner evening in Ginza.
Now it's the New Year. 2011 already? Geez.
After the summer, I was kind of at a loss for anything to post about. September was mostly "It's too damn hot", October was mostly working on my Halloween costume, November and December were busy with other things, and I'm behind on most of the shows I watch. I could never come up with anything to talk about that internet folks would be interested in or IRL folks didn't know already.
Random points of interest from the last few months, for anyone who cares.
Summer trip was fantastic. Comic Con was awesome, and I had a blast hanging out with levitatethis and her friends. Highlights: random commissioned art, Mythbusters panel, camping out for the Supernatural panel, going out for "we survived Comic Con 2010!" celebratory pizza after it was all over.
Less fun: having no hotel for my last night there. I ended up falling asleep in the lobby of their hotel until almost midnight, then getting the nice guy at the front desk to direct me to an all-night cafe I could sit around in until my flight the next morning. Which ended up being a horrible day of running around airports almost missing flights because of long lineups. Having a panic attack at an airport security lineup probably qualifies as my worst travel experience ever. (By some incredible miracle, the guy behind me in line was an EMT on vacation. So it wasn't as bad as it COULD have been.)
Anyway, travel issues aside, I had a lovely summer trip home. Saw friends and family. Went to my friend's wedding. Stuffed myself with food I can't get in Japan. It's good to be home, even if it's only for a while. Two weeks home wasn't nearly enough, but it's all I could get before heading back to Japan.
Did I mention it was hot here in September? BECAUSE IT WAS.
I've been trying to get out with people more this year, rather than just waiting for big get-togethers to happen. I don't really have a knack for planning things, or convincing people to do stuff, so I've gotten complacent about just doing stuff by myself until I get an invite somewhere. Still haven't turned that around, but I've been trying. And making an effort to go to more ALT events. During the fall I went on an overnight camping trip, went to the Halloween party, went caroling to do some fundraising, and two Thanksgiving events. That's something, I guess.
Christmas around here usually means everyone takes off for their home countries, or goes overseas. I've gotten used to just going to Tokyo by myself and wandering around for a few days looking for interesting things to do and stocking up on english books and games. This year... Very different. One of my friends decided to have a dinner at his house on Christmas day, so I pushed back my Tokyo trip. And of course, Christmas day ended up being one of the worst blizzards I've seen since I came to Japan.
Driving two hours in the storm to eat some good food and play Rock Band... Totally worth it.
I skipped off to Tokyo the next day. And for once, almost everyone I knew was going there at the same time. It was nice to be able to plan a day by texting everyone with a quick "Who wants to get dinner later?" or "I'm in Shinjuku, anyone want to go to the Square-Enix store?". Ended up having a lovely evening of dinner and karaoke in Akihabara, a nice evening of Irish pub food and arcade adventures, many and various excusions in Shinjuku, a day at Disney Sea, and a desperately overpriced dinner evening in Ginza.
Now it's the New Year. 2011 already? Geez.