What is this thing you call a weekend?
Yesterday and today have felt like some kind of special holiday, like when you get a three-day weekend and a snow day at the same time: completely unexpected but completely amazing. Have you ever seen those movies where the heroine just starts smiling for now reason, raises her hands to the sky, and spins around in a circle? I totally did that today.
Yesterday, Tuesday, was my usual day off. I decided to actually go to my Japanese lesson and it was agonizing because the lady just kept talking to me about shopping and travel and men and whatnot and I just wasn't having it. Oh well. After my lesson Karen and I went to Nagoya for my first-ever trip into the city! Well, I've been before but only for NOVA stuff so this was definately a treat. For our first stop we went to Osu Kannon to go to the Like An Edison there to see if I could find the NOIZ CDs I'm missing. Sadly, I didn't find the CDs, but it was still a cool trip. Osu seems like a cool place so I'll have to go back and check it out sometime.
After Osu Karen took me to Sakae, the equivilent of Umeda in Nagoya. I was pretty impressed actually. I've always read that Nagoya is more of an industrial city than a commerical one, but Sakae was just as bright and flashy as Umeda for the most part. Karen and I went to a bookstore that had practically an entire floor devoted to English books. I picked up back issues of The Economist and Foreign Affairs plus the Lonely Planet Japanese Phrase Book, only because it is too funny for words, and a huge map of Texas. :D I'm a nerd, yes, but you love me. After the bookstore we went to an import food store and I got Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup!!! I can cook again! I also got some Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal. Yummy to the extreme! Hells yes. :D
And the best part? We went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner! Our server, Rumi, as so sweet! She spoke English fairly well and as soon as I told her I used to wait tables she asked me all sorts of questions about phrases to use for her English customers so I totally helped her out. :) She got us a discount for it! For my meal, I had a huge baby-back ribs platter complete with french fries, a house salad with ranch dressing, and a margarita. A margarita! Could the meal have been any more perfect? Well, yeah, honestly I can think of a few improvements, but all and all it was great.
After Outback we went back to Nagoya Station and to Bic Camera. We meant to look at digital cameras and MP3 players, but I ended up being drawn to the basement and the fabled discount liquor store. I got a huge bottle of Smirnoff Vodka for like 800yen. Not only was it cheap, but it totally came with James Bond Casino Royale playing cards and a recipe book to make the drinks from the movie. Very nice.
Today I woke up late to find that my books from Amazon had arrived. :D Sweet. I spent the moring lazily, enjoying the fact that I had the apartment to myself, and cleaning my room while chatting with Anna and Krystin. Karen gave me her duvet a few weeks ago and I finally got around to adding it to my futon. My bed is fluffy now! I can't feel the floor! And since Karen leaves on Monday she said I could have her old futon so then my futon will be even fluffier! Such bliss... I went grocery shopping today and now have a ton of food and I have spent the evening with the heater on in my room, sipping on a Vodka Diet, and reading Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas. I really do love her characters. And it's nice to have some romance back in my life. ;)
I think I might go out and get some ice cream soon. Tonight feels like an ice cream night.
Yesterday, Tuesday, was my usual day off. I decided to actually go to my Japanese lesson and it was agonizing because the lady just kept talking to me about shopping and travel and men and whatnot and I just wasn't having it. Oh well. After my lesson Karen and I went to Nagoya for my first-ever trip into the city! Well, I've been before but only for NOVA stuff so this was definately a treat. For our first stop we went to Osu Kannon to go to the Like An Edison there to see if I could find the NOIZ CDs I'm missing. Sadly, I didn't find the CDs, but it was still a cool trip. Osu seems like a cool place so I'll have to go back and check it out sometime.
After Osu Karen took me to Sakae, the equivilent of Umeda in Nagoya. I was pretty impressed actually. I've always read that Nagoya is more of an industrial city than a commerical one, but Sakae was just as bright and flashy as Umeda for the most part. Karen and I went to a bookstore that had practically an entire floor devoted to English books. I picked up back issues of The Economist and Foreign Affairs plus the Lonely Planet Japanese Phrase Book, only because it is too funny for words, and a huge map of Texas. :D I'm a nerd, yes, but you love me. After the bookstore we went to an import food store and I got Campbell's Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup!!! I can cook again! I also got some Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal. Yummy to the extreme! Hells yes. :D
And the best part? We went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner! Our server, Rumi, as so sweet! She spoke English fairly well and as soon as I told her I used to wait tables she asked me all sorts of questions about phrases to use for her English customers so I totally helped her out. :) She got us a discount for it! For my meal, I had a huge baby-back ribs platter complete with french fries, a house salad with ranch dressing, and a margarita. A margarita! Could the meal have been any more perfect? Well, yeah, honestly I can think of a few improvements, but all and all it was great.
After Outback we went back to Nagoya Station and to Bic Camera. We meant to look at digital cameras and MP3 players, but I ended up being drawn to the basement and the fabled discount liquor store. I got a huge bottle of Smirnoff Vodka for like 800yen. Not only was it cheap, but it totally came with James Bond Casino Royale playing cards and a recipe book to make the drinks from the movie. Very nice.
Today I woke up late to find that my books from Amazon had arrived. :D Sweet. I spent the moring lazily, enjoying the fact that I had the apartment to myself, and cleaning my room while chatting with Anna and Krystin. Karen gave me her duvet a few weeks ago and I finally got around to adding it to my futon. My bed is fluffy now! I can't feel the floor! And since Karen leaves on Monday she said I could have her old futon so then my futon will be even fluffier! Such bliss... I went grocery shopping today and now have a ton of food and I have spent the evening with the heater on in my room, sipping on a Vodka Diet, and reading Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas. I really do love her characters. And it's nice to have some romance back in my life. ;)
I think I might go out and get some ice cream soon. Tonight feels like an ice cream night.