the price of a seikatsu, ridiculous inflation
the notice from Sophia came a couple days ago, and I got in. don't let that period there make you think I'm not happy about it. I'm just too anxious about the whole thing to act exuberant about it at the same time.
so since then, I've been filling out forms frantically so that I can send them off before I leave for Vietnam and Taiwan on Sunday night, while also trying to plan for that trip but mostly leaving it up to Kim and her mother. I got three shots on monday while kim and I played good cop/bad cop with the lady at the travel clinic. kim was the bad cop and decided to only get one shot. I was the good cop - I was like, please, this is why I wore a sleeveless shirt today, for you to stick me full of as many needles as possible and inject me with volumes of viral matter while I remain preternaturally calm as a fresh lamb being gently and unknowingly tenderized in its pen. anyway, she was the best shot-giver I'd even encountered.. so quick, so painless! and you can bet I told her so. and then she actually turned to kim and was like "see how brave your friend was?" (HA! I died). and then kim pored over the price lists and made cranky phone calls while the travel nurse and I embraced in immunizational joy. I love acting like a counterpart. kim is like my muse in that respect... do you see? so many couleurs, no?
I now own a pair of REI shorts and Tevas. you'd think I was embarking on a grueling weeklong hiking trip or maybe turning into my sister instead of going to Hanoi. it's just that I'm so afraid... of the toilets. that's why I need those shorts. kim mentioned "public latrine fields" and that was it, I was more terrified than thrilled. I'm such a fucking wuss. we'll be spending half the time in cities, the other half checking out the wonders of nature. I'm most excited about the caves. and ankor wat (because of wong kar wai). and saying "Saigon" over and over again. that'll be nice.
I also made some calls to the university and it seems like everybody makes their own living arrangements. that basically means I have to find an apartment in Tokyo with easy access to Sophia (Ichigaya campus). anybody have any apartment-hunting advice?? I'm really desperate. I need to move in between the 15th and 22nd of september (hopefully I'll find someone to put me up in the meantime). 120,000 yen per month is still really stretching it, and with all this terrible talk of key money and deposits and guarantors and blah blah I'm on the brink of despair, despite my excitement about finally finding my own place. I just don't want to get trapped in a gaijin house, although that seems like the easiest and cheapest way to go. should I use a realtor? anyone had any experiences with Sakura House or any other gaijin/student living arrangement? it seems like everyone else I know got a place with their job... why am I, the unemployed student, left out in the cold, huh? why are dorms at Sophia as expensive as apartments, but single-sex and with curfews? the women's dorm costs twice as much as the men's... maybe because it's nicer, or has security swat teams working 24/7 sniffing for manflesh. I dunno.
so since then, I've been filling out forms frantically so that I can send them off before I leave for Vietnam and Taiwan on Sunday night, while also trying to plan for that trip but mostly leaving it up to Kim and her mother. I got three shots on monday while kim and I played good cop/bad cop with the lady at the travel clinic. kim was the bad cop and decided to only get one shot. I was the good cop - I was like, please, this is why I wore a sleeveless shirt today, for you to stick me full of as many needles as possible and inject me with volumes of viral matter while I remain preternaturally calm as a fresh lamb being gently and unknowingly tenderized in its pen. anyway, she was the best shot-giver I'd even encountered.. so quick, so painless! and you can bet I told her so. and then she actually turned to kim and was like "see how brave your friend was?" (HA! I died). and then kim pored over the price lists and made cranky phone calls while the travel nurse and I embraced in immunizational joy. I love acting like a counterpart. kim is like my muse in that respect... do you see? so many couleurs, no?
I now own a pair of REI shorts and Tevas. you'd think I was embarking on a grueling weeklong hiking trip or maybe turning into my sister instead of going to Hanoi. it's just that I'm so afraid... of the toilets. that's why I need those shorts. kim mentioned "public latrine fields" and that was it, I was more terrified than thrilled. I'm such a fucking wuss. we'll be spending half the time in cities, the other half checking out the wonders of nature. I'm most excited about the caves. and ankor wat (because of wong kar wai). and saying "Saigon" over and over again. that'll be nice.
I also made some calls to the university and it seems like everybody makes their own living arrangements. that basically means I have to find an apartment in Tokyo with easy access to Sophia (Ichigaya campus). anybody have any apartment-hunting advice?? I'm really desperate. I need to move in between the 15th and 22nd of september (hopefully I'll find someone to put me up in the meantime). 120,000 yen per month is still really stretching it, and with all this terrible talk of key money and deposits and guarantors and blah blah I'm on the brink of despair, despite my excitement about finally finding my own place. I just don't want to get trapped in a gaijin house, although that seems like the easiest and cheapest way to go. should I use a realtor? anyone had any experiences with Sakura House or any other gaijin/student living arrangement? it seems like everyone else I know got a place with their job... why am I, the unemployed student, left out in the cold, huh? why are dorms at Sophia as expensive as apartments, but single-sex and with curfews? the women's dorm costs twice as much as the men's... maybe because it's nicer, or has security swat teams working 24/7 sniffing for manflesh. I dunno.