I've been packing my weekends full of live music recently, usually hitting one or two shows every weekend for the last month. Only one of these was a big foreign act (My Morning Jacket @ Club Quattro), the rest being smaller clubs and venues. Last Sunday there was a show at Varit in Kobe, and since I'm bored at work, I'm gonna do a little write-up on it here.
Varit is all you could ask for in a small Japanese club. You wouldn't expect it to be so large when you decend the stairs from street level to get inside, but it's definitely bigger than your average basement club. You don't even see the stage when you first enter, as it's down another set of stairs facing the dancefloor. The second level where you enter has the bar and a balcony to see the show below. There are tables and chairs for those who want to sip drinks and listen casually, and plenty of room below by the stage for those who want to dance away the night. You can see and hear perfectly well from just about anywhere in the club. The walls are covered with interesting posters of bands you've never heard of.
Unlike the friends I'm arriving with, I've been to Varit before. I'm confident I've hit the right note with my brown felt dress, black sweater and knee-high socks. Dancey, cute and casual. I have to keep up with Atsuko after all, and she's just about the coolest girl I know. We've come to this show on her recommendation, and her recommendations are never wrong. Naturally, she's there to meet us, wearing an outfit that would put her equally at home in Osaka, Japan or Olympia, Washington. After exchanging our mandatory 500 yen drink tickets for tequilla sunrises, we head downstairs to the stage.
The band Atsuko wants to see is up first, a group called Valva. While their name comes a little too close to the English for parts of the female anatomy for me to want to buy a t-shirt, it's hard not to fall instantly in love with them. The bass player is also the lead singer, with hair down to his midsection, cheetah-print pants and a voice that sounds like it belongs to a girl half his age. The drummer is quite the sight to behold too, as he blazes away, either counting or singing quite visibly to himself. There's no question these guys rock though. Atsuko and I are up at the front dancing away, when the bass player sits down on the ground for a while. Atsuko whispers to me that this is the best song, and that it will speed up. I don't doubt for a second it'll be worth the build. When they're finished, I go straight to the mech table and get their album.
Next up is Analog Jidai (アナログ時代). While there was no question Valva rocked, they were rather hippish compared to the boys in this band, leather jackets and jeans. The guitarist and bassist switched off on vocals. Not as "interesting" as Valva, but definitely fun to listen too. Again, I found myself dancing happily away.
After a longer break, The 48s are up. Suddenly a gaggle of girls in matching t-shirts are up at the front of the stage, positioned in two rows, ready for what is clearly their favorite band. The only band of the night to feature just 3 memebers (the rest are 4-piece), Atsuko tells me the lead singer had a previous band that was really popular. A big mop of hair and black rimmed glasses make it clear he is definitely the darling of the fanclub's hearts. He knows it too. He chats up the fans between songs, which invariably results in squeals of delight from them. It's the bass player's last tour with the band, but no one seems to care that much about him. The fangirls have choreographed moves for certain parts of each song, which my friends and I try to pick up for fun, usually a beat behind. Their set is bouncy, by far the poppiest band of the night, which doesn't surprise me. Still, it's enjoyable enough for all us non-fangirls too.
Between The 48s and the last act, The Keys, I start chatting with Analog Jidai's bass player, who'd come over to thank me for buying their album. After the usual formalities of "oh, your Japanese is so good" "no no no, it's not", he tells me The Keys sing songs in English. I'm thinking he means they have one or two songs in English, or that they have pieces of English in a lot of their songs. It's only when they come out and start playing that I realize he meant ALL of their songs are ALL in English. This is definitely a first for a me at a Japanese rock show. The lead singer's English is clearly not native, he has the stereotypical nasal sound of Japanese-English. Still, the grammar is surprisingly good compared to what you usually find in the J-pop mainstream (clearly, I'm thinking like an English teacher, hehe). Though it's not perfect, it's a hell of a lot better than what you normally find, and that in itself is pretty impressive. The music isn't bad either--not as poppy as The 48s, though also not as interesting as Valva. They encore with "There She Goes," which is the best cover I've seen since I saw Shonen Knife play "Daydream Believer". House lights come up, and that's a wrap for the Zooooom! Tour.
Like most shows here in Japan, this one gets out early enough for me to catch my last train home with time to spare. In fact, there is even enough time for a quick bowl of ramen with Atsuko and Clay. On the platform at the station, Atsuko and I sift through the stack of flyers and promos we were handed at the door. You get these at every show, and they are stuffed in bags and lockers, often forgotten on purpose. But Atsuko and I always look through to see what gig might be worth going out to next. As we wait for her train, we mark a few interesting looking shows, and plan to set something up. We've already got plans for Calvin Johnson and Karl Blau in Kyoto next month, we'll see if we can fit a couple more in. I hug Atsuko goodbye and she dashes off as her train arrives.
Ten minutes later on my own train home, I finally have a quiet moment to enjoy the ringing in my ears. Yup, it's been a good night.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
A story in which our hero has bike stolen, reported, and replaced in record time
i bike to the train station every day to get to work. as i am not a morning person, this often entails me pedaling like a madwoman, chucking my bike into the bike lot, paying the attendant the 100 yen fee, and dashing to the platform. today was one such day, and as occasionally happens, i was in such a rush i left my bike keys in the bike.
i realized this on the train ride home. no biggie, i thought, the key will be there in the lot when i arrive.
accept it wasn't there. and neither was my bike.
after giving the whole lot the twice and thrice over, i walk over to the police box by the station. i tell the tv-watching officer on duty i believe my bike's been stolen. he tells me to go talk to the station folks. i can tell he just doesn't want to deal with me. still, i go over to the ticket booth at the station and explain again what's happened. this gentleman tells me the parking lot is the town's, and i'll have to talk to someone who works for the town.
exasperated sigh.
rather than running in any more circles, i call my Board of Education. my supervisor isn't in, but Azumi-san, who went on the ski trip to Nagano, talks to me. i explain about my bike, and he says start walking home, he'll call me back.
frustrated and upset, i start walking home. i'm thinking i'll probably be spending the better part of the evening trying to explain this to other people at my B.o.E, possibly even the police. tears don't fall, but there's a sting at the back of my eyes as i start to think about having to walk to the station for the next week or so at the very least.
before i even get all the way home, Nakatsuka-san, the B.o.E. chief, calls me. he asks where i am, and i tell him i'm walking home still. he asks me what i'm near and to wait there. alright.
after leaning on the wall of Uni Qlo for no more than 5 minutes, Azumi and Nakatsuka show up in a van together. With a bicycle in the back.
i'm in total disbelief as they pull it out of the van, explain that this is just an old bike the B.o.E. has, but it's mine to use for now. if it weren't a strange and probably discomforting thing for them, i would have hugged them both. i can't believe how generous and how fast they are. a B.o.E. i often complain about for its slowness and inefficiency. total shock.
i bow and bow and bow, say my osewaninarimashitas, and they humbly accept my thanks, saying how it's just an old bike, no big deal. then they get back into the van, and ride my new bike the rest of the way home.
and that's another one for the "only in Japan" book.
i realized this on the train ride home. no biggie, i thought, the key will be there in the lot when i arrive.
accept it wasn't there. and neither was my bike.
after giving the whole lot the twice and thrice over, i walk over to the police box by the station. i tell the tv-watching officer on duty i believe my bike's been stolen. he tells me to go talk to the station folks. i can tell he just doesn't want to deal with me. still, i go over to the ticket booth at the station and explain again what's happened. this gentleman tells me the parking lot is the town's, and i'll have to talk to someone who works for the town.
exasperated sigh.
rather than running in any more circles, i call my Board of Education. my supervisor isn't in, but Azumi-san, who went on the ski trip to Nagano, talks to me. i explain about my bike, and he says start walking home, he'll call me back.
frustrated and upset, i start walking home. i'm thinking i'll probably be spending the better part of the evening trying to explain this to other people at my B.o.E, possibly even the police. tears don't fall, but there's a sting at the back of my eyes as i start to think about having to walk to the station for the next week or so at the very least.
before i even get all the way home, Nakatsuka-san, the B.o.E. chief, calls me. he asks where i am, and i tell him i'm walking home still. he asks me what i'm near and to wait there. alright.
after leaning on the wall of Uni Qlo for no more than 5 minutes, Azumi and Nakatsuka show up in a van together. With a bicycle in the back.
i'm in total disbelief as they pull it out of the van, explain that this is just an old bike the B.o.E. has, but it's mine to use for now. if it weren't a strange and probably discomforting thing for them, i would have hugged them both. i can't believe how generous and how fast they are. a B.o.E. i often complain about for its slowness and inefficiency. total shock.
i bow and bow and bow, say my osewaninarimashitas, and they humbly accept my thanks, saying how it's just an old bike, no big deal. then they get back into the van, and ride my new bike the rest of the way home.
and that's another one for the "only in Japan" book.
Monday, February 16, 2009
A tale of frozen disaster averted
The trip to Nagano did not start out well. One of the old Japanese guys coming on the trip thought it started on Saturday, when really we were leaving Friday night. This meant we started out about an hour behind schedule. Trying to explain to the Japanese guys in the van that no, the director's commentary is NOT the English language track on a DVD was proving difficult, even though my Japanese was correct, it was simply a foreign concept to them. That wasn't nearly so bad as the fact that about an hour later, leaving a PARKING LOT our driver crashed into a ROCK. I kid you not. This rock was large, too, and it completely smashed up the front of the rental van. This apparently messed up the radiator as well, and we had to call the other two vans back from the road and squeeze in. Turns out the other vans had JUST reached the opposite side of a traffic jam we all had to go through again. Several hours late, we finally arrive at the lodge, unpack all our stuff, and then get ready for our first trip to the mountain.
This was my first attempt at any sort of snow sport. I have never skied or snowboarded before. My friend Chiharu got some of her friends to lend us some boards and boots, so I decided to try that out. The guys we went with were A) pretty decent snowboarders and B) less-than-decent teachers. So they take us up to the top of the mountain. The very large mountain. The top where the sign says "for expert". I then had another stroke of bad luck, as the boots I was borrowing broke in the binding before even figured out how to stand up in them. Which meant I could not go down the mountain on the board, but had to instead take the gondola back down. Pretty embarrassing at the time. As I sat in the gondola, just on the edge of starting the decent, it stopped for about ten minutes, blowing me around in a very discomforting way, I started to think this entire trip would be a bust. I would suck at snowboarding and I would hate it and be in a bad mood for the next 3 days.
After shelling out the cash to rent boots and a board, the boys were at the bottom and we had lunch. A few encouraging words and beers were exchanged, and the plan was changed to start work on the kiddy hill. This round went far better. I learned to stand up on the board. I learned to move down the hill. I learned to go side to side. This was starting to actually resemble something one would enjoy doing, rather than just falling down. The next few times going up and back down were even better. I know I was just doing the very simplest basic things, but going down the slightly bigger hills and not falling down felt like a huge accomplishment. Even my bad spills didn't hurt so much.
The next two days were a combination of trying to get better at the basics and just having fun. Snowboarding all day, then drinking and laughing away the portion of the evenings we could all stay awake for. I actually started to get the hang of the snowboarding thing by the time we had to turn in our gear and leave. After the disasterous time I had scuba diving in December, I was kind of afraid I wouldn't like any kind of "risky" sport. I was happily surprised to find myself wrong.
I might have been sad and lonely this Valentine's day had it not been for my adventure in Nagano. Despite the best efforts of all our setbacks, it turned out I loved snowboarding. Who says you have to have a person for Valentine's love, right? I'm hoping to rekindle this relationship next week in the north of Hyogo, as we've only got a little while left to get to know each other before the season will be over.
And on that note, time to get my very sore butt to bed.
This was my first attempt at any sort of snow sport. I have never skied or snowboarded before. My friend Chiharu got some of her friends to lend us some boards and boots, so I decided to try that out. The guys we went with were A) pretty decent snowboarders and B) less-than-decent teachers. So they take us up to the top of the mountain. The very large mountain. The top where the sign says "for expert". I then had another stroke of bad luck, as the boots I was borrowing broke in the binding before even figured out how to stand up in them. Which meant I could not go down the mountain on the board, but had to instead take the gondola back down. Pretty embarrassing at the time. As I sat in the gondola, just on the edge of starting the decent, it stopped for about ten minutes, blowing me around in a very discomforting way, I started to think this entire trip would be a bust. I would suck at snowboarding and I would hate it and be in a bad mood for the next 3 days.
After shelling out the cash to rent boots and a board, the boys were at the bottom and we had lunch. A few encouraging words and beers were exchanged, and the plan was changed to start work on the kiddy hill. This round went far better. I learned to stand up on the board. I learned to move down the hill. I learned to go side to side. This was starting to actually resemble something one would enjoy doing, rather than just falling down. The next few times going up and back down were even better. I know I was just doing the very simplest basic things, but going down the slightly bigger hills and not falling down felt like a huge accomplishment. Even my bad spills didn't hurt so much.
The next two days were a combination of trying to get better at the basics and just having fun. Snowboarding all day, then drinking and laughing away the portion of the evenings we could all stay awake for. I actually started to get the hang of the snowboarding thing by the time we had to turn in our gear and leave. After the disasterous time I had scuba diving in December, I was kind of afraid I wouldn't like any kind of "risky" sport. I was happily surprised to find myself wrong.
I might have been sad and lonely this Valentine's day had it not been for my adventure in Nagano. Despite the best efforts of all our setbacks, it turned out I loved snowboarding. Who says you have to have a person for Valentine's love, right? I'm hoping to rekindle this relationship next week in the north of Hyogo, as we've only got a little while left to get to know each other before the season will be over.
And on that note, time to get my very sore butt to bed.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The Thaw Begins
While February is supposed to be the coldest month of the year, I can already start to feel the thaw coming on. It might be that there isn’t frost on the cars when I leave the house in the morning, or the sunshine that lets me keep my jacket unbuttoned for a couple hours in the afternoon, or the winter sweaters and boots finally going on sale in the stores to make room for lighter fare.
But really, I think it’s more internal than external. Now that January is FINALLY over, I feel a little lighter in spirit. Time is flying by, as we're already one-third of the way through the month. My weekends are filled with parties, live music, dancing, and most of all friends. This weekend I’m going on my first ski trip, and while I’m nervous about snowboarding for the first time, I’m equally excited to be going on a road trip and playing in the snow.
I’m finally getting back into the swing of doing things during the weekdays as well. I’m going to yoga class again, and the restretching of my muscles feels fantastic. Biking has become much more enjoyable, and I will ride the long way home on my daily commute. I’ve been eating dinner and watching movies with the friends who are here, and chatting over Skype with those who aren’t. I’m still homesick at times, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it was last month. Ideas are coming to me for art projects that had fallen by the wayside when I became dormant in the winter. Just in time to try and enter some more t-shirt contests, too.
I am coming back to life, and it is the kind of life I enjoy living. T.G.I.F - Thank God It's February.
But really, I think it’s more internal than external. Now that January is FINALLY over, I feel a little lighter in spirit. Time is flying by, as we're already one-third of the way through the month. My weekends are filled with parties, live music, dancing, and most of all friends. This weekend I’m going on my first ski trip, and while I’m nervous about snowboarding for the first time, I’m equally excited to be going on a road trip and playing in the snow.
I’m finally getting back into the swing of doing things during the weekdays as well. I’m going to yoga class again, and the restretching of my muscles feels fantastic. Biking has become much more enjoyable, and I will ride the long way home on my daily commute. I’ve been eating dinner and watching movies with the friends who are here, and chatting over Skype with those who aren’t. I’m still homesick at times, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it was last month. Ideas are coming to me for art projects that had fallen by the wayside when I became dormant in the winter. Just in time to try and enter some more t-shirt contests, too.
I am coming back to life, and it is the kind of life I enjoy living. T.G.I.F - Thank God It's February.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Of course before January was out, I had to start dealing with the issue of handing in my (non-)recontracting papers. That day was today.
As much as I've been complaining recently, it was still hard to actually hand in that paper. I've spent 2 and a half years working and living here. I've had some of the best times of my life here in Japan. I make good money working with a lot of kids and teachers I truly care about. Like it or not, I'm INVESTED in this place. The thought of leaving my apartment for the last time, saying goodbye to the students at my schools...just the thought of these things can bring tears to my eyes. Actually doing them is going to be a lot harder, I think.
Still, everyone understands that 3 years is a long time, and that I have things to do back home. What those things may be are anybody's guess at this point, but clearly, things will happen. Life will get re-started. No one begged me to change my mind.
I then somehow ended up getting into talking for another hour and a half about what will happen next year. Due to the Ministry of Education initiating a mandatory elementary school English curriculum for grades 5 and 6, Ichikawa may in fact get 2 ALTs again. It's still up in the air. Also up in the air is the schedule for next semester, which is fast approaching. Because of the elementary school changes, the elementary teachers want us to come one or two days a week to teach those lessons. It's not clear if they will only want 5th and 6th graders to do English now, or if they want us to stick to the textbook. While it was just mentioned in passing, this may also affect the Jr. High rotations, putting one ALT at the two busy schools and leaving the other ALT to rot at the Jr. High where we do nothing. Poor Katie had to sit through a lot of back and forth between me and the BOE folk in Japanese as I tried to explain why this was unfair and I would not stand for it.
These are my last six months in this job, and maybe ever in Japan. I will not spend it in misery at my desk in the teachers' room, rarely having class with kids who can't remember my name because they never see me. I don't want anyone else in the future to be stuck in that position either. This is a fight I feel I NEED to fight. I care about this, and I care about the mark I'm leaving for the people to follow me.
Wondering if I will have a successor or not is weighing on my mind too. Will I need to have my house cleaned and ready for the next person, or just cleaned out completely? I promised to help the new folks get oriented to our homes and towns when they arrive, as my contract ends in August and they'll probably be arriving in late July...will it be harder to see someone move into my home, to have them taking over what for the last three years have been "my things"? Or will it be harder to see everything go, parceled off to others or thrown away. Helping others do this for the last couple years has been difficult at times, and it wasn't even my home.
So, I'm left right now puzzling over what the future has in store, both in the next six months and the indefinite number of months to follow that. While my head hurts to think of it now, I know the answer is the same as it always is:
"Wait and see."
As much as I've been complaining recently, it was still hard to actually hand in that paper. I've spent 2 and a half years working and living here. I've had some of the best times of my life here in Japan. I make good money working with a lot of kids and teachers I truly care about. Like it or not, I'm INVESTED in this place. The thought of leaving my apartment for the last time, saying goodbye to the students at my schools...just the thought of these things can bring tears to my eyes. Actually doing them is going to be a lot harder, I think.
Still, everyone understands that 3 years is a long time, and that I have things to do back home. What those things may be are anybody's guess at this point, but clearly, things will happen. Life will get re-started. No one begged me to change my mind.
I then somehow ended up getting into talking for another hour and a half about what will happen next year. Due to the Ministry of Education initiating a mandatory elementary school English curriculum for grades 5 and 6, Ichikawa may in fact get 2 ALTs again. It's still up in the air. Also up in the air is the schedule for next semester, which is fast approaching. Because of the elementary school changes, the elementary teachers want us to come one or two days a week to teach those lessons. It's not clear if they will only want 5th and 6th graders to do English now, or if they want us to stick to the textbook. While it was just mentioned in passing, this may also affect the Jr. High rotations, putting one ALT at the two busy schools and leaving the other ALT to rot at the Jr. High where we do nothing. Poor Katie had to sit through a lot of back and forth between me and the BOE folk in Japanese as I tried to explain why this was unfair and I would not stand for it.
These are my last six months in this job, and maybe ever in Japan. I will not spend it in misery at my desk in the teachers' room, rarely having class with kids who can't remember my name because they never see me. I don't want anyone else in the future to be stuck in that position either. This is a fight I feel I NEED to fight. I care about this, and I care about the mark I'm leaving for the people to follow me.
Wondering if I will have a successor or not is weighing on my mind too. Will I need to have my house cleaned and ready for the next person, or just cleaned out completely? I promised to help the new folks get oriented to our homes and towns when they arrive, as my contract ends in August and they'll probably be arriving in late July...will it be harder to see someone move into my home, to have them taking over what for the last three years have been "my things"? Or will it be harder to see everything go, parceled off to others or thrown away. Helping others do this for the last couple years has been difficult at times, and it wasn't even my home.
So, I'm left right now puzzling over what the future has in store, both in the next six months and the indefinite number of months to follow that. While my head hurts to think of it now, I know the answer is the same as it always is:
"Wait and see."
Monday, January 26, 2009
まだ一月？？
December was here and gone before I could even blink, and yet January is lingering on and on like my bad cold.
Maybe it's because it IS so cold. There's more snow down here in my part of the prefecture than I've ever seen in the last 2 years. It's a challenge to get out of bed, let alone out the door by 7:15am. Biking in the freezing mornings to the station feels like it takes much longer than it actually does.
Maybe it's been the week or so of sickness. But lying in bed in my business hotel in Kobe, feverish and bored, while the rest of Hyogo partied the mid-year conference nights away, was already 2 weeks past. And New Year's on the beach in Thailand feels like it was months and months ago. Yet we're not even up to my sister's 24th birthday (tomorrow).
I'm working really hard at being optimistic. I know once we start to thaw out, I'll feel my spirits spiking back up to their regular highs. But we gotta get the ball rolling on this new year already, January NEEDS to finish. I really don't think I can take too much more of it.
Maybe it's because it IS so cold. There's more snow down here in my part of the prefecture than I've ever seen in the last 2 years. It's a challenge to get out of bed, let alone out the door by 7:15am. Biking in the freezing mornings to the station feels like it takes much longer than it actually does.
Maybe it's been the week or so of sickness. But lying in bed in my business hotel in Kobe, feverish and bored, while the rest of Hyogo partied the mid-year conference nights away, was already 2 weeks past. And New Year's on the beach in Thailand feels like it was months and months ago. Yet we're not even up to my sister's 24th birthday (tomorrow).
I'm working really hard at being optimistic. I know once we start to thaw out, I'll feel my spirits spiking back up to their regular highs. But we gotta get the ball rolling on this new year already, January NEEDS to finish. I really don't think I can take too much more of it.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Down and Back Up Again
It's no secret I've been seriously homesick of late (and if you didn't know, you clearly haven't been paying attention).
When I decided not to go home for the winter break, I thought I would be fine. Thailand seemed like it would be a fun escape from winter blues, laying out on sunny beaches with a bikini and a good book. I really underestimated my need at a depressing time to make contact with family, to feel home turf beneath my feet. Rainy days at the beach certainly didn't help. As much as I wanted to have fun in Thailand, and as much as I did enjoy most of the trip, I found myself feeling pretty desolate at the end knowing I'd be coming home to Japan and not to America. I felt overdue for the comforts of home--the familial bonding, the sisterly affection, the home-cooked meals. It was as though I'd deprived myself by not making the trip home.
Thankfully, just when I was about to cave into total and utter depression in the bleak Japanese winter, I was reminded that Japan is also my home, also a place where I can be happy. Meeting with friends over the weekend who I hadn't seen in some time was great. They let me unload my stresses and distresses, and they shared theirs with me. We went out and saw cool "Japan-only" kind of sites, discovered cool new corners of Osaka, ate delicious food, and danced the rest of the night out. This weekend was the first time in a while I enjoyed being where I was, and not wishing so hard that I was home. Finally, in the cold and dreary, I was reminded how enjoyable being at home here in Japan can be, how to get warm again inside and out.
Then, of course, I felt so good it was time to take the plunge, let my bank account take a hit and buy myself the MacBook Pro of my dreams. And yes, it's just as good as I could have hoped. Finding the PC and my new baby can talk to each other was another delightful surprise. Transferring will still take a while, but I'm actually enjoying the process so far, as opposed to the dread that kept me from buying the Mac for so long.
With the big mid-year conference in Kobe coming up (aka - everyone come to Kobe and party!), things are starting to really feel like they're supposed to. I can try to stop counting down the time til I leave Japan and remember how to enjoy it.
Figuring out what to do AFTER Japan...that's where the stress is gonna be, hehe. But one thing at a time.
When I decided not to go home for the winter break, I thought I would be fine. Thailand seemed like it would be a fun escape from winter blues, laying out on sunny beaches with a bikini and a good book. I really underestimated my need at a depressing time to make contact with family, to feel home turf beneath my feet. Rainy days at the beach certainly didn't help. As much as I wanted to have fun in Thailand, and as much as I did enjoy most of the trip, I found myself feeling pretty desolate at the end knowing I'd be coming home to Japan and not to America. I felt overdue for the comforts of home--the familial bonding, the sisterly affection, the home-cooked meals. It was as though I'd deprived myself by not making the trip home.
Thankfully, just when I was about to cave into total and utter depression in the bleak Japanese winter, I was reminded that Japan is also my home, also a place where I can be happy. Meeting with friends over the weekend who I hadn't seen in some time was great. They let me unload my stresses and distresses, and they shared theirs with me. We went out and saw cool "Japan-only" kind of sites, discovered cool new corners of Osaka, ate delicious food, and danced the rest of the night out. This weekend was the first time in a while I enjoyed being where I was, and not wishing so hard that I was home. Finally, in the cold and dreary, I was reminded how enjoyable being at home here in Japan can be, how to get warm again inside and out.
Then, of course, I felt so good it was time to take the plunge, let my bank account take a hit and buy myself the MacBook Pro of my dreams. And yes, it's just as good as I could have hoped. Finding the PC and my new baby can talk to each other was another delightful surprise. Transferring will still take a while, but I'm actually enjoying the process so far, as opposed to the dread that kept me from buying the Mac for so long.
With the big mid-year conference in Kobe coming up (aka - everyone come to Kobe and party!), things are starting to really feel like they're supposed to. I can try to stop counting down the time til I leave Japan and remember how to enjoy it.
Figuring out what to do AFTER Japan...that's where the stress is gonna be, hehe. But one thing at a time.
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