Neat!
I found a kanji training game for the DS in a second hand video game store. It's pretty neat. It goes all the way down to hirigana and katakana too so at least the kanji aren't all foreign to me. It's like Brain Age, 5 minutes a day to improve your kanji! It even came with the nintendo version of a shodo brush, I thought that was excellent. But I'm worried I'll lose it like my last 2 pen dealies. I know this sounds weird, but I was having alot of fun with it... Plus it gives me an excuse to bring my DS to school. It'll be fun to show it off.
Speaking of the DS... The new DSI is out. In a wide range of colours... if you like black and white that is. It's the equivalent of 200 bucks though, so I'm going back and forth whether I wanna lay down that much cash... Well. Maybe in the new year.
I've decided to go to Tokyo during winter break. One of the largest comic conventions takes place on the 28th-30th of December and all my favorite doujinshi circles will be there with their latest stuff, so that would be a blast. And while I'm there... take a city tour... go to Disney Land... I haven't been to a Disney park in 6 years. Disney Sea... Froze my ever-loving ass off. Bought Indiana Jones cookies for my parents for when they came to visit me... 8 hour bus ride. Got on at midnight, arrived at opening at 8am. That was HORRIBLE. Plus the bus stopped every 2 hours or so, then the lights would come on... Ugh.
The only downside to my master plan is that I gotta go all by myself... Traveling by yourself sucks. Especially when you aren't planning to meet someone or join a group... I might make new friends there, who knows. But I'm a pessimist. So it feels a little daunting. Need to go to a travel agent soon too... There aren't any around where I live so I gotta go out of my way... And after a day at work I'm cranky and tired... Monday or Wednesday would be my best bet... Those two days I have a better chance of leaving early... Hell, I did this 6 years ago, it should be EASIER this time!
Hmm... While I'm in Tokyo I should see if I can pick up one of those handy-dandy kanji translators. You draw the kanji on the touch screen and it tells you what the word is... I'll still probably have to look up that word, but at least I'd know what sounds it makes so I can actually look it up in the dictionary! That's what makes Japanese so HARD. If it weren't for the kanji without furigana (hiragana written by the side) I'd probably be functionally literate. Not newspapers or anything... But trashy novels at least... I was at a book store today and I picked up a copy of the Dead Poets Society in English. Loved the movie, thought the book would be fun. The book can't be any more that 250 pages and they're asking TWENTY BUCKS for the damn thing. Just... NO. Not happening. -_-;; I miss books. I finished Marley and Me today, brought tears to my eyes. My nose is still running from that awful cold I caught last weekend so at least I could blame it on that. I'm still coughing up fun stuff too. But at least I'm not SICK.
I've gotten into the habit of looking at Japanese job search sites. If things don't work out here, might try somewhere else. And try with SOMEONE else if my company doesn't give in to my demands. Not that I think I'm being unreasonable. Somewhere with stores, not have to drive an hour to schools... Less than 10 freaking schools... Being to cover ALL my freaking travel expenses within the budget my contract states! That last part is just bullshit anyways. How the hell do they expect anyone to want to STAY in Toba if they have to pay out of pocket for gas to get to these schools out in the bush! ... At least they pay for my car. I'll give them that. I won't be able to drive soon after my contract expires anyways. They only give you a year, so after that I have to take their test... And it's not uncommon for Japanese people to fail about 3 times, let alone us foreigners! And it costs 200 bucks a pop! Pass or no pass! Not worth it, not worth the stress. Although I love having my car and it makes my living here SO much easier, it isn't enough to convince me that I NEED a car. I wouldn't stay out here anyways, even if I didn't have to drive. I like the people, but 10 schools is a LOT and I'd like to feel like I was living in town, not a distant suburb. It'd be fun to work in my old stomping grounds, or at least close to them. ^_^
Or hell, work in Tokyo. There are far more job openings out there than I expected. But you have to be careful... Some of them are salary and some of them are per hour. The problem with the per hour jobs is the threat that you might have to find YOUR OWN students or the classes dry up, not stable. But salary lump-sums limits how much you can earn even if you work extra hours... So yeah. Interesting to think about.
Oh, right. Job. Job continues to be bearable. Even manage to enjoy myself some days. Still miss friends/family/dogs and still a nervous wreck most of the time. Geez.. I'm so high-strung, it's a little ridiculous. Still lonely, but busy so I'm okay. Only talk to myself on off occasions. Still trying to figure out what I want to do come March, I'm still up in the air. Stay? Don't stay. Go Home? Don't go home... Go home and do WHAT is the scariest question that I still have no answer for...
Although I've been thinking about becoming an archivist. Problem is that it's a Master's Degree so I need to get an undergraduate in an "appropriate field". But they don't hash out what fields are appropriate which is kind of annoying. I mean, English is the obvious one, but there's a plural in there so they have a broader range than that. I'd like to major in Japanese... I'd actually love to brush up my French and take a minor in that. Living here has reminded me how much I love speaking another language. Heck, I like to speak in English too, who am I kidding? But I'm really happy that my Japanese has managed to get to a level that I can insert more of my personality and jokes into my conversations. Telling a funny story and having them laugh is a real rush. Means I told it right! Sometimes that's hard even in your native language!
Of course the real problem remains, where would I work? I mean, I could come back to Japan after I get my degree, but I'll probably end up teaching english again. I'd love to have a job out here that didn't involve teaching children. I really don't know how to deal with kids. I never had much experience with them having no siblings or even younger cousins around more than once a year... Hmmm.. I wonder if I'd be okay with High School kids. Another issue: I'm so not cool enough to live in Japan. LOL Oh god, I saw this... garment... today that was literally a knit shirt with shorts attached. So it was kind of like a jump suit. But I mean, A KNIT shirt, long sleeves with SHORTS. They weren't long shorts either. Boggles the mind. Then... I saw the knit dress with spaghetti straps. o_O I don't understand... But I don't have to. I'd never fit my ass into one anyways. Ah, Japan.
Speaking of the DS... The new DSI is out. In a wide range of colours... if you like black and white that is. It's the equivalent of 200 bucks though, so I'm going back and forth whether I wanna lay down that much cash... Well. Maybe in the new year.
I've decided to go to Tokyo during winter break. One of the largest comic conventions takes place on the 28th-30th of December and all my favorite doujinshi circles will be there with their latest stuff, so that would be a blast. And while I'm there... take a city tour... go to Disney Land... I haven't been to a Disney park in 6 years. Disney Sea... Froze my ever-loving ass off. Bought Indiana Jones cookies for my parents for when they came to visit me... 8 hour bus ride. Got on at midnight, arrived at opening at 8am. That was HORRIBLE. Plus the bus stopped every 2 hours or so, then the lights would come on... Ugh.
The only downside to my master plan is that I gotta go all by myself... Traveling by yourself sucks. Especially when you aren't planning to meet someone or join a group... I might make new friends there, who knows. But I'm a pessimist. So it feels a little daunting. Need to go to a travel agent soon too... There aren't any around where I live so I gotta go out of my way... And after a day at work I'm cranky and tired... Monday or Wednesday would be my best bet... Those two days I have a better chance of leaving early... Hell, I did this 6 years ago, it should be EASIER this time!
Hmm... While I'm in Tokyo I should see if I can pick up one of those handy-dandy kanji translators. You draw the kanji on the touch screen and it tells you what the word is... I'll still probably have to look up that word, but at least I'd know what sounds it makes so I can actually look it up in the dictionary! That's what makes Japanese so HARD. If it weren't for the kanji without furigana (hiragana written by the side) I'd probably be functionally literate. Not newspapers or anything... But trashy novels at least... I was at a book store today and I picked up a copy of the Dead Poets Society in English. Loved the movie, thought the book would be fun. The book can't be any more that 250 pages and they're asking TWENTY BUCKS for the damn thing. Just... NO. Not happening. -_-;; I miss books. I finished Marley and Me today, brought tears to my eyes. My nose is still running from that awful cold I caught last weekend so at least I could blame it on that. I'm still coughing up fun stuff too. But at least I'm not SICK.
I've gotten into the habit of looking at Japanese job search sites. If things don't work out here, might try somewhere else. And try with SOMEONE else if my company doesn't give in to my demands. Not that I think I'm being unreasonable. Somewhere with stores, not have to drive an hour to schools... Less than 10 freaking schools... Being to cover ALL my freaking travel expenses within the budget my contract states! That last part is just bullshit anyways. How the hell do they expect anyone to want to STAY in Toba if they have to pay out of pocket for gas to get to these schools out in the bush! ... At least they pay for my car. I'll give them that. I won't be able to drive soon after my contract expires anyways. They only give you a year, so after that I have to take their test... And it's not uncommon for Japanese people to fail about 3 times, let alone us foreigners! And it costs 200 bucks a pop! Pass or no pass! Not worth it, not worth the stress. Although I love having my car and it makes my living here SO much easier, it isn't enough to convince me that I NEED a car. I wouldn't stay out here anyways, even if I didn't have to drive. I like the people, but 10 schools is a LOT and I'd like to feel like I was living in town, not a distant suburb. It'd be fun to work in my old stomping grounds, or at least close to them. ^_^
Or hell, work in Tokyo. There are far more job openings out there than I expected. But you have to be careful... Some of them are salary and some of them are per hour. The problem with the per hour jobs is the threat that you might have to find YOUR OWN students or the classes dry up, not stable. But salary lump-sums limits how much you can earn even if you work extra hours... So yeah. Interesting to think about.
Oh, right. Job. Job continues to be bearable. Even manage to enjoy myself some days. Still miss friends/family/dogs and still a nervous wreck most of the time. Geez.. I'm so high-strung, it's a little ridiculous. Still lonely, but busy so I'm okay. Only talk to myself on off occasions. Still trying to figure out what I want to do come March, I'm still up in the air. Stay? Don't stay. Go Home? Don't go home... Go home and do WHAT is the scariest question that I still have no answer for...
Although I've been thinking about becoming an archivist. Problem is that it's a Master's Degree so I need to get an undergraduate in an "appropriate field". But they don't hash out what fields are appropriate which is kind of annoying. I mean, English is the obvious one, but there's a plural in there so they have a broader range than that. I'd like to major in Japanese... I'd actually love to brush up my French and take a minor in that. Living here has reminded me how much I love speaking another language. Heck, I like to speak in English too, who am I kidding? But I'm really happy that my Japanese has managed to get to a level that I can insert more of my personality and jokes into my conversations. Telling a funny story and having them laugh is a real rush. Means I told it right! Sometimes that's hard even in your native language!
Of course the real problem remains, where would I work? I mean, I could come back to Japan after I get my degree, but I'll probably end up teaching english again. I'd love to have a job out here that didn't involve teaching children. I really don't know how to deal with kids. I never had much experience with them having no siblings or even younger cousins around more than once a year... Hmmm.. I wonder if I'd be okay with High School kids. Another issue: I'm so not cool enough to live in Japan. LOL Oh god, I saw this... garment... today that was literally a knit shirt with shorts attached. So it was kind of like a jump suit. But I mean, A KNIT shirt, long sleeves with SHORTS. They weren't long shorts either. Boggles the mind. Then... I saw the knit dress with spaghetti straps. o_O I don't understand... But I don't have to. I'd never fit my ass into one anyways. Ah, Japan.