the neglected blog

march 20th.

welp, i guess its time to dust off the cobwebs from this blog. i know its been quite a while since my last entry, but my goal was to write once a month for the first year that i was in japan, and well, i did that. i got from november to november, basically writing every month. thats not to say that i plan on abandoning my blog, i do plan on updating this as frequently as possible, but only when interesting things happen. i feel kinda lame sharing the things that are mundane in my life. i think at this point the newness of living in japan is gone and ive completed settling into my life here in nagoya.i often think about posting a lot of things though... just have to wait until ive compiled a list long enough for a blog. ^^;; actually, i guess i dont. my friend cindy often posts really short blogs... kind of like thought bubbles, that i really enjoy reading. my sister always complains that she has to sit down for at least a half hour to read my blog. lol. hrm. balance.

today i dyed my hair. i dyed it black again... the color was fading and my grey hair was showing... when i was in high school it was fun to have grey hair... now i feel old. -.- i also cut bangs the other day. i did it myself! lolol. they didnt turn out bad either! ^^ i also cut down my nails... they were long and beautiful, but i have to have them short for the next chapter in my life. thus, my hair is solidly black, my nails are short and neutral colored. T_T i feel normal. blah. 

so lets see... updates... i went home in december.

i think the clouds are prettier in l.a.

first time in a year since i got to see the familia. i missed my niece soooooo much! she is such a special little child in my life. i only have 2 pictures in my room, one of my niece and one of my dog. lol. they are both like my children. when i am away i miss them both terribly. to be honest, im not sure how ive made it this long without my chibi. seeing his little face was the only thing that kept me moving when after my dad passed away. dogs are stupidly loyal, but so am i, so i can respect that about dogs. 

i have the cutest puppy.

as for my niece, i am always amazed at the beautiful, intelligent, inquisitive young lady she is becoming. as long as my sister and brother-in-law continue to nurture that in my niece, i believe she will accomplish many great things.

cin and beks making cookies for santa!

my mom made enchiladas for me.

behold all of the goodness. thaaaank you mom!

she learned how to make them from my dads mom. i dont know how long the recipe has been in the family, but ive never had any others like them and (in my opinion), nothing compares to them. ^^ overall it was a great success being home. ^^

another highlight from my trip was my weekend excursion to santa barbara with the ladies, and daniel. ^^ lots of kpop, giggles, games, makeup, and food was had. we went to the beach in WINTER! god i love los angeles. we have the best weather ever. it was a little cool, but not cold. my friends really are the best. i love them all dearly.

some of the other highlights from my trip, were seeing my grandparents, parents, cousins, aunts, james, bobby, and the two new babies. i miss my grandpa. he is one of the greatest people ive ever known. his sense of humor is always on point, and his sense of morality runs very deep. we did lots of things but mostly eating. i ate a LOT of mexican food. a LOT.

first meal of the trip, mexican OF COURSE!

lol. i dont know how i ate so much... but i was basically sick of eating it by the time i got back. lol. is that really possible?? maybe. lol. the mediocre food here is barely enough to wet my tastebuds. if i want mexican food, i have to cook it myself... but i ate a lot and it was good. ^^

when it was time to say goodbye, it was really hard for me to leave my dog. he wailed and sobbed. thinking about it makes me tear. i will be with him again. as soon as i figure out my life, he will come with me. my niece also had a hard time saying goodbye. i didnt realize how hard it was on her to say goodbye but one minute she was helping me with my bags, and the next minute she was sobbing away. once shes a little older we will be able to skype each other easier. my sister was supposed to set up facetime with my niece... but my sister flaked out on my 3 times. T_T she also forgets and gets sidetracked... so im guessing it hasnt been done yet. yes, its been 3 months... not that i am waiting cindy!

when i got back, i had to get back into the swing of work. nagoya is cold during winter... the air is dry and it makes my throat hurt. ive been sick a lot here... mostly getting used to different germs and different colds going around. i think i am over the worst of it though.

i think i mentioned this a while ago, but there was a guy who started sitting next to me on the train. he sat next to me faithfully for several months. kind of a creepy guy, but maybe 5'3 in stature and not a very big build... so i was never worried. he never spoke to me. he smiled when he would sit down and smiled when he left, but we never spoke. bobby dubbed this, "meitetsu love story. love begins at a stop," and i would often joke that he was my love interest... but actually he was a creeper. ^^;; when he smiled, he was missing his back teeth... and he would also sit a little too close. but, like i said, i could take him if i wanted to. ^^;; anyway, i was amused but not interested. ^^;; anyway, i finished my last wednesday shift last week and ended up sitting next to someone else... so.... we never said goodbye. after 6 months my story ends. my sister says that hes going to look for me on trains for the rest of his life. lolololol. that would be an interesting story twist, but i think our story ended well. im sure he will find someone else to creep on. ^^;;

from april 6th to now. ^^

so, now that ive finally left my old job, i can plainly state that I HAVE A NEW JOB!!! EEEEEEEEEEE!!! it was kind of obnoxious that i couldnt say anything... and to the point that some people actually wanted me to lie about why i was leaving and where i was going. i am FUNDAMENTALLY AGAINST lying to people. also, leaving was a bit of a pain. for whatever reason leaving a company isnt easy....

in all honesty, i worked really hard. i always work hard. on all of my reviews- with a possible score of 95 (i think), with 10 possible bonus points, and my lowest score was 102. -.- i thought it was kinda lame that i never got any information on where to submit my badge, where to take my books, or even a thank you (not that i expect a thank you, but it would have been nice). i only got one phone call from personell telling me that i needed to take down my post about my new job and that i had to watch my words... and a subtle threat that my words were slanderous. ugh. here's the thing. the definition of slander is the stating malicious and/or false statements to harm the reputation of a person/group. I never said anything slanderous. i said i got a new job and said that i'd be making more money, have better hours, and have more time off. all of that is true.... and i most definitely did not say it with the intention of damaging their reputation.... anyway.

most of my schools were pretty great. i do feel very lucky to have had my eikaiwa position. i met a lot of really great people; great students, great staff, and a ton of fantastic coworkers. i think many of the relationships i built will be lifelong. also, it got me to japan on a 3 year visa, and traveling to all the different schools really allowed me to learn nagoya pretty well. also, the training i got was pretty good. i learned how to manage my classroom and deal with a variety of behavioral issues. i feel like it was a great baby step towards my new job.

my goodbye dinner. 

i also said goodbye to my kvp, the kindergarten program i was working in. i really loved going to my kindy... its probably the thing that pushed me towards this new job. i loved my kids there... and it was hard to say goodbye. we took a big class picture together.... they are soooooooooooooo cuteeeeeeeee!!!

my new school has some pretty strict policies regarding privacy, so i cannot say too much, but so far i really like it. i am working really hard and i am constantly thinking about work, but i feel very satisfied with what i am doing. its a pretty swanky place with many swanky people. the staff is very friendly and they are all very close knit. its kind of strange for me to come in as head teacher, but i am working on building new relationships with the staff. i have soooo many things to learn, but i am trying...! lol.

hanami with 2 of my new coworkers! yay!

i finally feel like i am a real teacher. that makes me really happy. most of you already know that ive wanted to be a teacher since i was about 5 years old. i remember making worksheets for my sister and making her sit down and do them.... lol. yes, i was a bossy older sister. o_O when i first learned you could teach in japan, about the age of 8, i decided i wanted to live in japan and teach. well, i really really really took the long way here, but i finally did it. its a major life goal accomplished.... now if only i didnt live in nagoya. T_T i miss being in a big city... its soooooooooooooooooooo dreadfully small here.

i finally feel like i am a real teacher. that makes me really happy. most of you already know that ive wanted to be a teacher since i was about 5 years old. i remember making worksheets for my sister and making her sit down and do them.... lol. yes, i was a bossy older sister. o_O when i first learned you could teach in japan, about the age of 8, i decided i wanted to live in japan and teach. well, i really really really took the long way here, but i finally did it. its a major life goal accomplished.... now if only i didnt live in nagoya. T_T i miss being in a big city... its soooooooooooooooooooo dreadfully small here.

I went to the penis festival last month! ^^

they wanted me to do something suggestive with the lollipop but i thought just having a picture of it was enough for my family... lolol.

its actually a fertility festival, but since they have statues of penii and a float... and lots of candy in the shape of penii, all the foreigners have dubbed it such. a good time was had by all im sure. 

choco banana penii.

everyone rubs this one and then takes a picture with it. the old ladies told me this is why its so smooth. lololol. 

also, i realized that i really enjoy my own company. i mean, i knew this before but whenever i go somewhere, i always want to go alone. i always think im going to have more fun if i go alone. i dont really know if thats true or not.... but i like to take photos of things and i usually feel like a burden if im making people wait for me to set up a shot or annoyed with others for not letting me set up a shot. ^^;;

thats why.... i think i am going to taiwan alone! lol. i was going to go with maki but she seems a bit busy this month (and i am too) so we havent really talked about it. i really really wanna see jennifer and nancy, so i think im going to just go. i really like taiwan. ive already done all the touristy things, so i dont really want to do that stuff. mostly i wanna eat good food, shop and relax. i wanna spend some time with my good friends and take some time to shoot some (hopefully good) pictures. actually, aside from my trip to asia with bobby, and the two weeks my sister and i spent in france together (but i was already studying there.... so it almost doesnt count), ive never really taken a vacation with anyone. i think its kinda funny actually.... ^^;;

also! its SPRING!!!!!!!!!!! the weather is finally a bit warmer- and by warmer i mean high 50's- which isnt quite warm... lol. but at least it seems to be raining a bit less than it did last year. last week week i went to *4* hanami! lol. 花見 (hanami) means flower viewing. the first kanji is the kanji for "flower" and the second is "to look/see" everyone basically goes out and sits under the cherry blossoms and they have massive picnics. everyone. everywhere. lol. the parks are flooded with people. i really really like it. ^^.... anyway, i think i finally appreciated the cherry blossoms this year. they are absolutely beautiful and everyone is always sooo happy! as of today, i think they are all gone. they lasted about 8 days this year... but super strong winds and rain almost surely knocked them all off the trees now. it happens so quickly!

soooo pretty.

full bloom!

early afternoon shenanigans.

the park is so pretty at night!

with saori. <3

in very sad news.... we've lost mandy. ok, shes not dead... but shes in australia! which is reeeeeeally far away! i dont think ive actually processed the fact that shes gone yet... but seeing as how its saturday night and i am at home writing a blog instead of enjoying a delicious dinner somewhere, means i feel the loss! lol. before she left, we spent a lot of time hanging out. we even went to osaka for her birthday (ok, technically i was already training in osaka....) and had dinner at the hard rock cafe! omg i missed american food. lol. 

our last photo. i shouldve worn makeup. lol

i made a photo album for her as a going away present. i collected pictures from our year together... initially i was worried that i wouldnt have enough photos, but i easily had 100 photos and had a hard time deciding which photos were going to make the cut.  i had just enough time to print the last photo we took together from the dinner to add to the album. i hope she liked it. ^^

its funny... i go back and forth between moving. my apartment building is great. i have everything i want here. i like my space... but i feel like i could be closer to work... i really miss living in fushimi. nagoya is already such a small city... i feel like even at the main station i am too far away from the city. also it would be nice to be back on the blue line... because thats the line i take to work.... ugh... i donno. it doesnt help that yohsuke (stupid yohsuke) told me this building is where japanese people come to have sex with foreigners....  -.- ugh... i dont know! i need to sit still for a while maybe. i get ancia. 

i also bought a new camera (have you noted all the pictures yet??)! my poor old point and shoot camera was actually dead. completely and utterly dead. i was kind of disgruntled because bobby took it to israel in 2010? and it got aaaaall scratched... and it was hard to see the pictures... but my little blue camera went everywhere with me. yes, i do have an iphone but it dies easily and i like to take pictures! so anyway i went and had a quite lengthy conversation with the guy at bic camera and i think i settled on a good one. be ready for many many more pictures! (as if i didnt already take enough pictures.... )

hrm....lets see... cultural notes:

1. the shinkansen is the coolest train ever. i love riding it soooo much and i try to take it as often as possible. ^^ its soooo fast and soooo comfortable... its like being on a plane without any of the stress!!! its expensive... but a very nice way to travel. 

2. something thats really annoying here are trucks with loud speakers spouting random things like political jargon and other annoying things. AND they often start by 9am! i feel like im living in a nationalistic propaganda war. it doesnt happen often... but it was quite frequent during election time. WHO STILL USES LOUD SPEAKERS ON TRUCKS???? ugh. its annoying.

3. one of the more popular artists is kary pyamu pyamu. you kinda have to see it to believe it... but my friend chad is quite the fan of hers.... and shes playing in the background as i type this... i dont know why she gets stuck in my head! aaaah!

YOU MUST WATCH THIS! lol. you will be so confused.

4. also, in the last couple of japanese dramas that ive seen, at least 2 people have committed suicide. i actually cant remember the last time i saw suicide in an american drama... its quite rare.... i wonder what that says about our society. both are recent dramas... and both kinda dealt with the whole suicide as kinda.... "oh thats too bad... and life goes on..."

5. soooo many goodbyes.... i think thats just the nature of the business here....but with everyone in japan too. people get transferred a lot here! wth! every april there is a mass migration throughout the country.... but growing up where i grew up.... people dont leave very much... unless they join the military or go to jail. ^^;; im not good at goodbyes... especially permanent ones. ah well.

6. old people riding bicycles. like actual old people. riding bicycles. they dont always ride them well... but they do ride them.... i cant even imagine g or grams trying to ride a bike right now....

7. speaking of bikes, here are a couple of interesting bikes ive found:

rear child seat.

this bike had a read AND front childs seat. just cant be safe!

hand warmers! its freaking cold here... and if you notice the black thing in the middle, its for umbrellas! yes, people do attach umbrellas to their bikes. its REALLY ANNOYING.

8. knives vs. guns.... a lot of the dramas here show knives as the main weapon of attack. now... again, growing up where i grew up, the thought of being taken down by a knife is laughable. yes, i know you can in fact kill someone with a knife.... but every time i see it i giggle inside. japan really doesnt experience true crime very often.... i wonder which is better/less damaging.... obviously knowing crime/ seeing crime take place/ having it built in the culture, isnt great... but being docile/oblivious/unaware is also a disadvantageous.

9. japan has seasons. i hate it. ill never ever get used to having to go outside in the rain. i need to be rich enough that i can stay home when it rains.... i wonder what kind of job that is... construction worker? lol. sah... rain sucks.... so does cold! wth?! cold is lame. i hate being cold. BUT this year i bought my first official winter coat. i actually have a down jacket.... its really warm. im saddened that life has beaten me down enough to buy one... but i am warm. the fake down jackets just didnt keep me warm and i constantly thought i was dying. DYING!!!!!!!

last night i was the first time since october i slept without a heater... but its on again today cause its cold. *shakes fist*

10. i get tired of people being surprised that i can use chopsticks. should i also be surprised when people can use a fork? it happens a lot here.... i think foreigners really need to work on their cultural understanding of japan. they need to learn japanese and stop giving people like me a bad rap. i suffer soooo much because people come here, know nothing, dont learn anything, and make social faux paus.11. i saw it. underwear in a vending machine. i wanted to buy it for fun... but it was like $5 a pair... so i decided against it. also, side note, selling used underwear is actually illegal. these were *fresh* panties. ^^ aaand... the style of underwear people like in japan seems to be of the granny type... which is kinda eeeew.

12. rilakuma condoms: rilakuma is a sanrio (hello kitty) character. clearly, these are not to be used by children. -.-

disturbingly cute condoms... sorry guys but if you came at me with one of these, i might laugh you out of my house. 

caption says, "cant we spend the night together?"

Today I made 3 types of kimchi. i am eager for it to be ready (they take a while to ferment)! I also made veggie patties for hamburgers. THEY WERE FANTASTIC! my mouth was so happy. i have 10 more in the fridge for later! eeee!!1 next week, a new mole sauce, rice krispy treats, and corn tortillas.

finally, i think i need to start working on some sort of scholarship again. my brain is itching for something.... im thinking of looking over some manuscripts... perhaps polishing up my thesis.... or looking over my classical japanese. i couldnt find my notes when i went back home... so im kinda bummed about it.... but i need to keep my brain thinking about these things so i can stay on top of my field. aaaand yes, its true that i study things from hundreds of years ago.... BUT WHAT IF THERES A BREAK THROUGH!! O-O i really want to get my thesis published too.

ok... guess thats all for now.... ill try not to stay away for so long. ^^

xoxo