A Day At the Office...and Bored
So here I am sitting in the BOE, unfortunately stuck in an I-don't-feel-like-writing rut (that is, regarding the writing of my novel), so I decided I'd sit down and try to think of some kind of update for the blog...
It's kinda sad (or maybe just weird) to get to this point where I'm living in a foreign country considered so exotic and exciting back home...and I've got nothing especially cool to write about. Maybe it's just because I'm stuck out here in the inaka, but local news is limited to the fact that it's getting COLDER (I think we're hovering around about 60 this week) very quickly. The sun is down at 5, and I've just heard that they've gotten the first snow up on Hakkoda Mountain--the tallest mountain up here, located in the middle of the prefecture. One of the JETs (well, I guess she's an ex-JET now) said that 5 years ago on her first year here, she was SKIING AT HALLOWEEN. I guess we're not quite back to that point yet, but it'll probably start snowing in at least November. I really do think we're gonna get more of a winter this year than last. *crosses fingers*
In even MORE domestic news, I'm putting off the daunting task of clearing out the cobwebs in my house until after I get back from Vancouver. Yes. I have cobwebs. I find them in all sorts of odd places, not at all limited to the high corners of my rooms. The reason they persevere to exist even as I know of them, of course, is that since I've pardoned some of my spider housemates from my ritual bi-weekly (ish) clean, I find (shockingly!) that there are fewer insects in my house. Go figure, right? So the spiders and I have an arrangement--I'll let them stick around as long as they keep themselves hidden. I especially needed them to combat my house centipede problem. They also have a taste for the rollie pollies (sp?) that infested my house last year...damn, I love spiders. lol Most of the 8-leggers I find get a reprieve and are tossed out a window, which I know is probably just a minor setback for them. They only need find their way to one of the BAZILLION CRACKS in my foundation and they're home again.
Seriously, though, the stringy almost-visible nets in the corners and crevices of my house are kinda getting out of hand. In my occasional cleanings, they don't get much worse than a "clean shave," so to speak. But I'm putting that off until the Canada thing is over. Actually, I'm putting off just about everything until after the Canada thing, from career change choices to the decision of whether I want to work at a kindergarten on Christmas day...ugh.
But Canada is here at last! I'm heading to Tokyo this Wednesday--the day after tomorrow, W00T!!--and then on Thursday, it's off to North America. This is a first for me, heading back East without actually going home. Maybe I'm growing up. ;) Really, I still can't believe that I had this idea to go to this conference last year (around December, I think, if not earlier), and I've ACTUALLY set it all up like I wanted to back then. Most of my ideas like this sort of fizzle out before anything comes of them. ^^; Let's hope such doesn't happen to my travel plans for the next couple years. If this conference is successful, I'll probably start working on the planning of that long-awaited Australia trip I've wanted to take FOREVER.
Hmm...what else can I ramble about?
Ah, ok. In school related news, I did have my first Halloween lesson of the year last week at Kanita Elementary. While I was home this summer, I bought a pirate costume. It consisted of a very LARGE, colonial-esque men's white shirt (men's size purchased because the lady pirate design was a rather slutty off-the-shoulder number that would not fly with my BOE), brown vest, brown boot covers, and a bandanna. The problem was that I have some classes that totally laugh at me must for being a gaijin, so for 2 days preceding my Kanita lesson, I was tossed back and forth in the dilemma of "Can I ACTUALLY get through a day in KANITA wearing this?" Turns out, I could. I had Halloween lessons planned for the 3rd and 4th graders, and those went so well that my 2nd graders (who were supposed to learn colors, but totally knew them already) ended up getting one, too, and everyone had a lot of fun. Last year I stayed up 'till 2am making 3 sets of Halloween cards for 8 different vocab words (witch, wizard, mummy, black cat, bat, ghost, pumpkin, monster), which were hastily laminated the day-of and used in a card game. This year I pulled them out again and used them in a Halloween version of Concentration...which everyone enjoyed immensely. That was a good surprise. The costume did help break the ice, I think, even though none of the kids could guess what I was actually dressed as. Apparently, the image of a WITCH in the Japanese mind is quite similar to that of a PIRATE. The kids who got closest to guessing it actually shouted "Johnny Depp," not "pirate."
I have to do 2 (and possibly 3) more Halloween lessons in Kanita, and now I'm wondering if the costume will be as effective with my 5th and 6th graders as it was for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. *sigh* I'll wear it for everyone in Tairadate, anyway.
Ok. With that, I think I'm out of stuff to blabber on about. Not one of my best posts, but it's something. Maybe my writer's block is gone now. :)
===================
Book Recommendation of the Month (or whatever): The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
Again, this is for readers of fantasy, but seriously...I'm still 200 pages from the end, and it's already one of the best books I've ever read, which is amazing, considering it's written by a guy, and I tend to lean toward female authors. But anyway, great stuff. He's a new author, and his writing is packed with action, humor, and a clever plot line. Seriously. Love this book. If you're looking for something to read...
It's kinda sad (or maybe just weird) to get to this point where I'm living in a foreign country considered so exotic and exciting back home...and I've got nothing especially cool to write about. Maybe it's just because I'm stuck out here in the inaka, but local news is limited to the fact that it's getting COLDER (I think we're hovering around about 60 this week) very quickly. The sun is down at 5, and I've just heard that they've gotten the first snow up on Hakkoda Mountain--the tallest mountain up here, located in the middle of the prefecture. One of the JETs (well, I guess she's an ex-JET now) said that 5 years ago on her first year here, she was SKIING AT HALLOWEEN. I guess we're not quite back to that point yet, but it'll probably start snowing in at least November. I really do think we're gonna get more of a winter this year than last. *crosses fingers*
In even MORE domestic news, I'm putting off the daunting task of clearing out the cobwebs in my house until after I get back from Vancouver. Yes. I have cobwebs. I find them in all sorts of odd places, not at all limited to the high corners of my rooms. The reason they persevere to exist even as I know of them, of course, is that since I've pardoned some of my spider housemates from my ritual bi-weekly (ish) clean, I find (shockingly!) that there are fewer insects in my house. Go figure, right? So the spiders and I have an arrangement--I'll let them stick around as long as they keep themselves hidden. I especially needed them to combat my house centipede problem. They also have a taste for the rollie pollies (sp?) that infested my house last year...damn, I love spiders. lol Most of the 8-leggers I find get a reprieve and are tossed out a window, which I know is probably just a minor setback for them. They only need find their way to one of the BAZILLION CRACKS in my foundation and they're home again.
Seriously, though, the stringy almost-visible nets in the corners and crevices of my house are kinda getting out of hand. In my occasional cleanings, they don't get much worse than a "clean shave," so to speak. But I'm putting that off until the Canada thing is over. Actually, I'm putting off just about everything until after the Canada thing, from career change choices to the decision of whether I want to work at a kindergarten on Christmas day...ugh.
But Canada is here at last! I'm heading to Tokyo this Wednesday--the day after tomorrow, W00T!!--and then on Thursday, it's off to North America. This is a first for me, heading back East without actually going home. Maybe I'm growing up. ;) Really, I still can't believe that I had this idea to go to this conference last year (around December, I think, if not earlier), and I've ACTUALLY set it all up like I wanted to back then. Most of my ideas like this sort of fizzle out before anything comes of them. ^^; Let's hope such doesn't happen to my travel plans for the next couple years. If this conference is successful, I'll probably start working on the planning of that long-awaited Australia trip I've wanted to take FOREVER.
Hmm...what else can I ramble about?
Ah, ok. In school related news, I did have my first Halloween lesson of the year last week at Kanita Elementary. While I was home this summer, I bought a pirate costume. It consisted of a very LARGE, colonial-esque men's white shirt (men's size purchased because the lady pirate design was a rather slutty off-the-shoulder number that would not fly with my BOE), brown vest, brown boot covers, and a bandanna. The problem was that I have some classes that totally laugh at me must for being a gaijin, so for 2 days preceding my Kanita lesson, I was tossed back and forth in the dilemma of "Can I ACTUALLY get through a day in KANITA wearing this?" Turns out, I could. I had Halloween lessons planned for the 3rd and 4th graders, and those went so well that my 2nd graders (who were supposed to learn colors, but totally knew them already) ended up getting one, too, and everyone had a lot of fun. Last year I stayed up 'till 2am making 3 sets of Halloween cards for 8 different vocab words (witch, wizard, mummy, black cat, bat, ghost, pumpkin, monster), which were hastily laminated the day-of and used in a card game. This year I pulled them out again and used them in a Halloween version of Concentration...which everyone enjoyed immensely. That was a good surprise. The costume did help break the ice, I think, even though none of the kids could guess what I was actually dressed as. Apparently, the image of a WITCH in the Japanese mind is quite similar to that of a PIRATE. The kids who got closest to guessing it actually shouted "Johnny Depp," not "pirate."
I have to do 2 (and possibly 3) more Halloween lessons in Kanita, and now I'm wondering if the costume will be as effective with my 5th and 6th graders as it was for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. *sigh* I'll wear it for everyone in Tairadate, anyway.
Ok. With that, I think I'm out of stuff to blabber on about. Not one of my best posts, but it's something. Maybe my writer's block is gone now. :)
===================
Book Recommendation of the Month (or whatever): The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
Again, this is for readers of fantasy, but seriously...I'm still 200 pages from the end, and it's already one of the best books I've ever read, which is amazing, considering it's written by a guy, and I tend to lean toward female authors. But anyway, great stuff. He's a new author, and his writing is packed with action, humor, and a clever plot line. Seriously. Love this book. If you're looking for something to read...