Blasted Cold Front.. and Fish!
It's early for me yet on a Sunday (not quite 7 pm) but the temptation to curl up in bed is pretty strong. (Note to self: call about wireless card.)
The cold front came in this morning, dropping the weather down from about 50*F to 40*F - without the windchill factor. I know all you in the north are laughing at that, but a 10 degree drop feels damn cold! Plus, remember that we don't have central heating over here!
So I have tea and my kotatsu, fuzzy socks, and a small blanket. Rumor is this temperature is going to stay or drop until February so I'd better figure out how my space heater works!
Yesterday there was a "Hokkaido Bazaar" in my town. Apparently we're sister-cities with some town in Hokkaido so every year they do this product showcase thing. Went and bought wasanbon (sugar candy), some sushi, and a little keychain thing from some people in my eikaiwa class. Then I saw they had the goldfish scooping game!
I bought an aquarium a MONTH ago and STILL didn't have fish to put in it, so I was super excited. And the guy let me play for FREE! I only got two tiny fish but I rushed home to set up my aquarium. They were quite cute and I left them swimming happily while I went to enjoy tea ceremony and the viewing of fall leaves with one of my co-workers (an older Japanese woman who also teaches English).
Then today we went to the school festival for one of my elementary schools. Angelina and Samantha, the two JETs from the next town over, came as well. We made some cute little shrinkadinks, saw cute preschoolers dance, ate udon and candied sweet potatoes, got some pretty bookmarks the kids made with pressed flowers, and so on. One of my kids gave me some stickers so I gave her the Relakuman shrinkadink that I made. On the way out, two of the teachers stopped us and gave the three of us cactus plants.
Afterwards, Samantha wanted to buy some wasanbon, so I suggested we swing by the bazaar before they closed. There we all bought aprons for 100 yen because it was close to closing time. Angelina and Sam got their wasanbon. I swung by the goldfish game again a few minutes after closing time, hoping I could still catch the guy and maybe play just once for one or two more little fish for my tank. I even planned on paying this time!
BUT! The guy saw me and this time didn't even have me play. He gave me three of the medium-sized goldfish and two more little ones for free!! I suppose they were packing up anyways, but he also said I was cute so... *blushies* This country is horrid for my ego!
On the downside though, it's also horrid for my wallet. I spent $50 at the store the other day buying toilet paper, soap, tissues, and some baking supplies. (Though I also bought 3 little poinsettia plants for Sam, Angelina, and myself.) Since I only had a small 5 gallon or so aquarium, I had to run to the home goods store and buy another one. I should have bought my first one there too! They had the same exact tank in a slightly bigger size for LESS than the pet store where I bought my first one. I wanted something different this time though so I bought a medium-sized fishbowl instead, and some sand instead of rocks. I split the fish up so that I have 2 large and 2 small in the aquarium with the filter, and 1 big and 2 small in the fishbowl without.
I really like the fishbowl. It looks really nice imo, but I am a little concerned about the fish. The ones in my elementary schools are certainly worse off but the water looks a bit murky to me... The fish seem all right now but I hope I'm not condemning them to a (much) earlier death. Any one have fishbowl tips??
Oooh.. I knowKnowKNOW they're actually supposed to be horrid for fish, but why then do fishbowls LOOK so nice? *le sigh* Ah well. Worse comes to worse, the goldfish die and I buy a beta.
The cold front came in this morning, dropping the weather down from about 50*F to 40*F - without the windchill factor. I know all you in the north are laughing at that, but a 10 degree drop feels damn cold! Plus, remember that we don't have central heating over here!
So I have tea and my kotatsu, fuzzy socks, and a small blanket. Rumor is this temperature is going to stay or drop until February so I'd better figure out how my space heater works!
Yesterday there was a "Hokkaido Bazaar" in my town. Apparently we're sister-cities with some town in Hokkaido so every year they do this product showcase thing. Went and bought wasanbon (sugar candy), some sushi, and a little keychain thing from some people in my eikaiwa class. Then I saw they had the goldfish scooping game!
I bought an aquarium a MONTH ago and STILL didn't have fish to put in it, so I was super excited. And the guy let me play for FREE! I only got two tiny fish but I rushed home to set up my aquarium. They were quite cute and I left them swimming happily while I went to enjoy tea ceremony and the viewing of fall leaves with one of my co-workers (an older Japanese woman who also teaches English).
Then today we went to the school festival for one of my elementary schools. Angelina and Samantha, the two JETs from the next town over, came as well. We made some cute little shrinkadinks, saw cute preschoolers dance, ate udon and candied sweet potatoes, got some pretty bookmarks the kids made with pressed flowers, and so on. One of my kids gave me some stickers so I gave her the Relakuman shrinkadink that I made. On the way out, two of the teachers stopped us and gave the three of us cactus plants.
Afterwards, Samantha wanted to buy some wasanbon, so I suggested we swing by the bazaar before they closed. There we all bought aprons for 100 yen because it was close to closing time. Angelina and Sam got their wasanbon. I swung by the goldfish game again a few minutes after closing time, hoping I could still catch the guy and maybe play just once for one or two more little fish for my tank. I even planned on paying this time!
BUT! The guy saw me and this time didn't even have me play. He gave me three of the medium-sized goldfish and two more little ones for free!! I suppose they were packing up anyways, but he also said I was cute so... *blushies* This country is horrid for my ego!
On the downside though, it's also horrid for my wallet. I spent $50 at the store the other day buying toilet paper, soap, tissues, and some baking supplies. (Though I also bought 3 little poinsettia plants for Sam, Angelina, and myself.) Since I only had a small 5 gallon or so aquarium, I had to run to the home goods store and buy another one. I should have bought my first one there too! They had the same exact tank in a slightly bigger size for LESS than the pet store where I bought my first one. I wanted something different this time though so I bought a medium-sized fishbowl instead, and some sand instead of rocks. I split the fish up so that I have 2 large and 2 small in the aquarium with the filter, and 1 big and 2 small in the fishbowl without.
I really like the fishbowl. It looks really nice imo, but I am a little concerned about the fish. The ones in my elementary schools are certainly worse off but the water looks a bit murky to me... The fish seem all right now but I hope I'm not condemning them to a (much) earlier death. Any one have fishbowl tips??
Oooh.. I knowKnowKNOW they're actually supposed to be horrid for fish, but why then do fishbowls LOOK so nice? *le sigh* Ah well. Worse comes to worse, the goldfish die and I buy a beta.