And by the beard of Zeus
For Valentine’s Day I went to look at penguins chillin in front of the aquarium, posing like a boy band, and I bought cheap sunglasses and cute pink shoes because even though I love pink, I have never owned pink shoes. And then, to top it all off, I went to the French bakery and bought a slice of chocolate pyramid cake and Grainne and I watched Before Sunrise. I love the movie, I really do, but good lord Ethan Hawke’s character just needs to SHUT UP sometimes. It gives you this hope though, that you could just meet someone randomly and have this amazing day with them and not know what will happen afterwards.
Yesterday, after my Japanese lesson and some food shopping because this week I will bring my lunch instead of fending for myself, I went to the big bookstore near the train station, grabbed the latest Gossip Girl book and read half the book in an hour. It’s a very Japanese thing to do, go to a book store and just read. I had to fight for a seat on a bench. A guy stood up to take a cellphone call, so I sat down, but he turned around a second later. To be fair, I scooted all the way to the edge of the bench to make room. Sitting there, I was fully aware for a while that I was the only foreigner there. That I was reading a book in a bookstore in JAPAN. On a day to day basis, I often forget where I am because I’m so used to everything, but sometimes, out of the blue, I remember and it blows my mind.
I did the bank transfer for my ticket home today. March 31st is the BIG DAY. I’m leaving here at 1:15pm and I arrive in Florida at 4:37pm on the same day. A three hour flight! Six weeks of work left, one week off, 45 more days total and only 27 of them working. YES! I still I have things I need to do. I’m going to Hiroshima in March. I want to go back to Kyoto, maybe see sumo if it’s not too expensive, karaoke, yakiniku, an all-nighter in Osaka, and I want to learn how to wear my damn yukata. Next Halloween my costume will rock.
A guy from a few of my Creative Writing classes found me on Facebook. He somehow heard I was in Japan teaching (how do these rumors get around? I really don’t know anyone!) and he’s interested in doing it as well so he asked me some questions. But then he asked me if I’ve been writing. He said since school ended he’s tried to write and every time he tries, he often thinks of my stories. And really, it’s those comments that make me think I’m not a retard for trying. Tonight, in a nerve-racking move, I asked Grainne to read two of my stories, a revision of an old old one and the new one I just wrote last month. We’ve talked a lot about writing because she’d like to try as well and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to live up to the hype we’ve created. She’s an avid reader, too, and really, how would I compare to these REAL authors? She told me she loved my stories. And I let out this huge sigh of relief because the anxiety was over. Maybe, just maybe, I can do this.
One of the best things sometimes is to quote Anchorman. A whole conversation of just lines from the movie. Automatically makes any situation so much better.
Yesterday, after my Japanese lesson and some food shopping because this week I will bring my lunch instead of fending for myself, I went to the big bookstore near the train station, grabbed the latest Gossip Girl book and read half the book in an hour. It’s a very Japanese thing to do, go to a book store and just read. I had to fight for a seat on a bench. A guy stood up to take a cellphone call, so I sat down, but he turned around a second later. To be fair, I scooted all the way to the edge of the bench to make room. Sitting there, I was fully aware for a while that I was the only foreigner there. That I was reading a book in a bookstore in JAPAN. On a day to day basis, I often forget where I am because I’m so used to everything, but sometimes, out of the blue, I remember and it blows my mind.
I did the bank transfer for my ticket home today. March 31st is the BIG DAY. I’m leaving here at 1:15pm and I arrive in Florida at 4:37pm on the same day. A three hour flight! Six weeks of work left, one week off, 45 more days total and only 27 of them working. YES! I still I have things I need to do. I’m going to Hiroshima in March. I want to go back to Kyoto, maybe see sumo if it’s not too expensive, karaoke, yakiniku, an all-nighter in Osaka, and I want to learn how to wear my damn yukata. Next Halloween my costume will rock.
A guy from a few of my Creative Writing classes found me on Facebook. He somehow heard I was in Japan teaching (how do these rumors get around? I really don’t know anyone!) and he’s interested in doing it as well so he asked me some questions. But then he asked me if I’ve been writing. He said since school ended he’s tried to write and every time he tries, he often thinks of my stories. And really, it’s those comments that make me think I’m not a retard for trying. Tonight, in a nerve-racking move, I asked Grainne to read two of my stories, a revision of an old old one and the new one I just wrote last month. We’ve talked a lot about writing because she’d like to try as well and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to live up to the hype we’ve created. She’s an avid reader, too, and really, how would I compare to these REAL authors? She told me she loved my stories. And I let out this huge sigh of relief because the anxiety was over. Maybe, just maybe, I can do this.
One of the best things sometimes is to quote Anchorman. A whole conversation of just lines from the movie. Automatically makes any situation so much better.