i`m so horrible D;
yesterday was Parent`s Day at Otsu so i worked a full day, although they let me off a little over an hour early. that`s the good thing about working on the weekend, they JTEs often insist on you leaving early if possible. D; of course i fain resistance, but really all the better for me! fyi, PTA meetings (not like America`s PTA btw) are really boring. D; this is probably a given, but still felt like stating that.
i taught three classes yesterday, but upon arriving at school i found out that parents would only be observing 5th period, so i only had to teach with parents watching for one class. yay. unfortunately i ended up having to sing "Top of the World" by The Carpenters two times yesterday and one of those times was 5th period..... D; i didn`t have to sing completely solo, but since students barely open their mouths for anything, it was mainly me, the JTE and the CD.... D; so horrible. i swear i`ve had to sing during classes in Japan more than i ever sung during my entire school life. D; Japan friggin` loves "educational" singing i swear. anyone hoping to teach English in a Japanese public school better be prepared to sing! singing is also a decent part of school ceremonies.
anyway, yesterday had some embarrassments, but it went alright. today i taught three classes of 5th years body parts at Asakura E.S.. this was my first time to the school and the students were really awesome for 5th years! i suspect it may be only because they`re still 4th years at heart since they`ve only been 5th years for a month, but i sincerely hope they stay the way they are. dont grow up! D; their English was exceptionally good and they learned fast. infact, their English was so unexpectedly good and they learned the words that they didnt already know so fast that i had unexpected time left over after each class. >.> luckily being an ALT has forced me to learn how to improvise in such situations. :x
i was rather annoyed last night because looking at the train schedule i would have to get on a train 2 hours before my first class would start because certain trains only go certain distances and the train i needed, since the school is far away, doesnt run at all from 8am ~ 9am (ridiculous). but this actually turned out to be a good thing because it took more an hour+ to get to the school! D; i had no idea it would take so long, so had the train ran between 8am and 9am i probably would have chosen to leave later and would have risked getting there a little late. :x but anyway, the school is far out west (my apartment is in the east) so on the way to and from there i passed a decent sized electronics store that i normally dont go to because its so far away. since i was already close to it, i decided to stop by...
before i go any further, let me interrupt this entry to say that i narrowed down my choice of p&s cameras using 2 conditions: it had to be awesome and it had to be pocketable while being awesome. i am a picky customer when it comes to technology, particularly when it comes to cameras. these two conditions are hard to meet, but the 3 that passed were:
Panasonic LUMIX FX500 - brand spankin` new and the HOTTEST, most advanced ultra-compact around. check out the site so i dont have to rant and rave, but basically it has EVERYthing one could ever dream of having in an ultra-compact camera and more. EVERYthing. BUT, as such this camera costs a pretty couple of pennies. my local Best Denki (decent-sized electronics store) doesnt even have it on display yet.
Canon IXY910 IS - (aka Canon Powershot SD870 IS in N. America) i am a fan of Canon. LONG LIVE CANON!! i have complete trust in Canon when it comes to cameras and camera related products (with reason!) and this seems the best pocketable model for my needs. <3
Sony DCS T100 - long story made short behind my choice of this model is that i really liked the T300 (current and 2nd younger sister to the T100) and the T2, but both the T300 and the T2 have gotten a lot of really bad reviews for their image quality and i refuse to compromise image quality for pocketableness and style. but upon doing some research, i found that the big big sister of the T300 (the T100) had really awesome all around reviews on many sites, so i decided that it would be the camera that i would get if i got a Sony. only problem is that this camera came out a year ago and since then has had 2 successor, thus would be hard to find! local electronics store only has the 2 little sisters.
but then a friend *cough*skrobo*cough* kept beating me over the head (in a friendly way! <33) about seriously considering spending 400$+ dolors on a casual photography camera when i already have a DSLR! D; since i suck he had to beat me over the head a lot, but eventually i decided that i shouldnt spend so much and that i shouldnt get a camera that is so good that it may tempt me to use my DSLR less. :x SO, since the Sony takes winner for pocketability, scored 1st place for best ultra-compact on Cnet and even got good reviews by consumers who already own DSLRs and are just looking for a casual photography camera like me, i decided that if i could be lucky enough to find the T100 before my trip, it would be my new casual camera.
so, i stroll into Yamada Denki (electronics store near the E.S.) and i find a working demo of the Panasonic LUMIX FX500....! ON SALE (but still over 400$)! gahhh, but i had decided against it...! temptation....!! but i force myself to put it down and look around some more. and then, i come across this pitiful-looking "display" with only one camera on it and that one camera not even being a working model. it was a Sony and had a sign on it saying that it may no longer be in stock and to ask a clerk for help. so, i look at the camera`s model number (because Sony`s T series look so much alike that you have to)..... and it was the T100...!! BUT, before i could do a little dance, i had to see if there was a reason to dance, so i get a clerk to check the stockroom for me. so she runs off (because its seeming customary to run in Japan when someone asks you to do something no matter how little and non-urgent it is) and then runs back a minute later saying that there was 1 in stock....!
.........................so guess what i came home with because i couldnt bare to leave it there until my camera shopping trip with watercircle tomorrow. D; I COULDNT LEAVE IT! so i now have myself a hot-looking, burnt metallic red Sony T100. 8) you know, normally i cant stand red. one of my LEAST favorite colors. but Japan somehow knows how to make electronics look hot in red. my cellphone is the same red color and had i had the option, maybe i might have ended up with a red VAIO too. xD
the 3.0in screen on this T100 is so awesome-looking and glossy straight out of the box that i seriously dont even want to touch it until i can buy a screen protector for it. it`s ridiculous that something with a 3in screen would come without one. regardless of having already bought my new camera, i`m still full-heartedly up for camera shopping with watercircle tomorrow. i am a techonology whoring shopaholic afterall. plus i need a screen protector.
i taught three classes yesterday, but upon arriving at school i found out that parents would only be observing 5th period, so i only had to teach with parents watching for one class. yay. unfortunately i ended up having to sing "Top of the World" by The Carpenters two times yesterday and one of those times was 5th period..... D; i didn`t have to sing completely solo, but since students barely open their mouths for anything, it was mainly me, the JTE and the CD.... D; so horrible. i swear i`ve had to sing during classes in Japan more than i ever sung during my entire school life. D; Japan friggin` loves "educational" singing i swear. anyone hoping to teach English in a Japanese public school better be prepared to sing! singing is also a decent part of school ceremonies.
anyway, yesterday had some embarrassments, but it went alright. today i taught three classes of 5th years body parts at Asakura E.S.. this was my first time to the school and the students were really awesome for 5th years! i suspect it may be only because they`re still 4th years at heart since they`ve only been 5th years for a month, but i sincerely hope they stay the way they are. dont grow up! D; their English was exceptionally good and they learned fast. infact, their English was so unexpectedly good and they learned the words that they didnt already know so fast that i had unexpected time left over after each class. >.> luckily being an ALT has forced me to learn how to improvise in such situations. :x
i was rather annoyed last night because looking at the train schedule i would have to get on a train 2 hours before my first class would start because certain trains only go certain distances and the train i needed, since the school is far away, doesnt run at all from 8am ~ 9am (ridiculous). but this actually turned out to be a good thing because it took more an hour+ to get to the school! D; i had no idea it would take so long, so had the train ran between 8am and 9am i probably would have chosen to leave later and would have risked getting there a little late. :x but anyway, the school is far out west (my apartment is in the east) so on the way to and from there i passed a decent sized electronics store that i normally dont go to because its so far away. since i was already close to it, i decided to stop by...
before i go any further, let me interrupt this entry to say that i narrowed down my choice of p&s cameras using 2 conditions: it had to be awesome and it had to be pocketable while being awesome. i am a picky customer when it comes to technology, particularly when it comes to cameras. these two conditions are hard to meet, but the 3 that passed were:
Panasonic LUMIX FX500 - brand spankin` new and the HOTTEST, most advanced ultra-compact around. check out the site so i dont have to rant and rave, but basically it has EVERYthing one could ever dream of having in an ultra-compact camera and more. EVERYthing. BUT, as such this camera costs a pretty couple of pennies. my local Best Denki (decent-sized electronics store) doesnt even have it on display yet.
Canon IXY910 IS - (aka Canon Powershot SD870 IS in N. America) i am a fan of Canon. LONG LIVE CANON!! i have complete trust in Canon when it comes to cameras and camera related products (with reason!) and this seems the best pocketable model for my needs. <3
Sony DCS T100 - long story made short behind my choice of this model is that i really liked the T300 (current and 2nd younger sister to the T100) and the T2, but both the T300 and the T2 have gotten a lot of really bad reviews for their image quality and i refuse to compromise image quality for pocketableness and style. but upon doing some research, i found that the big big sister of the T300 (the T100) had really awesome all around reviews on many sites, so i decided that it would be the camera that i would get if i got a Sony. only problem is that this camera came out a year ago and since then has had 2 successor, thus would be hard to find! local electronics store only has the 2 little sisters.
but then a friend *cough*skrobo*cough* kept beating me over the head (in a friendly way! <33) about seriously considering spending 400$+ dolors on a casual photography camera when i already have a DSLR! D; since i suck he had to beat me over the head a lot, but eventually i decided that i shouldnt spend so much and that i shouldnt get a camera that is so good that it may tempt me to use my DSLR less. :x SO, since the Sony takes winner for pocketability, scored 1st place for best ultra-compact on Cnet and even got good reviews by consumers who already own DSLRs and are just looking for a casual photography camera like me, i decided that if i could be lucky enough to find the T100 before my trip, it would be my new casual camera.
so, i stroll into Yamada Denki (electronics store near the E.S.) and i find a working demo of the Panasonic LUMIX FX500....! ON SALE (but still over 400$)! gahhh, but i had decided against it...! temptation....!! but i force myself to put it down and look around some more. and then, i come across this pitiful-looking "display" with only one camera on it and that one camera not even being a working model. it was a Sony and had a sign on it saying that it may no longer be in stock and to ask a clerk for help. so, i look at the camera`s model number (because Sony`s T series look so much alike that you have to)..... and it was the T100...!! BUT, before i could do a little dance, i had to see if there was a reason to dance, so i get a clerk to check the stockroom for me. so she runs off (because its seeming customary to run in Japan when someone asks you to do something no matter how little and non-urgent it is) and then runs back a minute later saying that there was 1 in stock....!
.........................so guess what i came home with because i couldnt bare to leave it there until my camera shopping trip with watercircle tomorrow. D; I COULDNT LEAVE IT! so i now have myself a hot-looking, burnt metallic red Sony T100. 8) you know, normally i cant stand red. one of my LEAST favorite colors. but Japan somehow knows how to make electronics look hot in red. my cellphone is the same red color and had i had the option, maybe i might have ended up with a red VAIO too. xD
the 3.0in screen on this T100 is so awesome-looking and glossy straight out of the box that i seriously dont even want to touch it until i can buy a screen protector for it. it`s ridiculous that something with a 3in screen would come without one. regardless of having already bought my new camera, i`m still full-heartedly up for camera shopping with watercircle tomorrow. i am a techonology whoring shopaholic afterall. plus i need a screen protector.