Friday, July 25, 2003
Well, I guess I might as well announce it: I have decided on an apartment. It's in an apartment complex made for college students. It's in a prime location next to the river...it's not that it's next to the river that is attractive (the river ain't much to look at to be honest) but the fact that it's fairly close to the station without being in the noisy midst of it and at the same time, it's not too far away from Nakano-cho, where a lot of people I know live. You'd think I'd be bursting with excitement, but I'm not. I guess it's because I feel like I can't quite relax about it. I still have to sign the contract and coordinate things with my hoshonin. And another thing: I won't be able to move in until the 26th....but I don't think I want to delay my return until then...so I will have to find a place to stay in the meanwhile....:-P
View from the other side...
To think, that a week from now I will be in the US...and a week from tomorrow I will be on my way to Mexico.....
Since my blog is called "My Year In Japan"...I was thinking about starting another blog once I come back to Japan. After all, I think that the coming year will be a very distinct experience from my time in Soka. Of course, I could just change the name of my blog. Also, if I do start another blog, there will be another URL that other people would have to memorize. If one wanted to read about my experiences from a while back, one would have to type another URL. So, what do you think?
To think, that a week from now I will be in the US...and a week from tomorrow I will be on my way to Mexico.....
Since my blog is called "My Year In Japan"...I was thinking about starting another blog once I come back to Japan. After all, I think that the coming year will be a very distinct experience from my time in Soka. Of course, I could just change the name of my blog. Also, if I do start another blog, there will be another URL that other people would have to memorize. If one wanted to read about my experiences from a while back, one would have to type another URL. So, what do you think?
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
I`m posting a link that I posted before, but last time I did not give credit to the people who made it possible for me to receive it. So thanks Arathi, for sending it to me. Thanks Mark for sending it to her and thanks Michelle for sending it to him! So go and visit it again if you are in need of a laugh!
Since I will be leaving exactly one week from today, I figured that I should write on the blog these last few days I`m here...
I wish I was writing to tell you that I know exactly where I`m going to live once I come back to Japan, but I`m not....things are still up in the air. However, I think I`m pretty close to deciding and I pray that by tomorrow I will know. It`s a really nice apartment next to the Asa River and it`s near the station and not too far from Nakano-cho, where a lot of people I know live. The only thing is that I will have to buy a fridge and futon and table and shelves...which are not cheap...where`s the Salvation Army when you need it?? Well, at least I don`t have to buy a western-style bed which would be more expensive than a futon.
Two nights ago, KM invited me at the last minute to go karaokeing. He kept telling me to invite my friends and for this situation (I could infer that he wanted me to invite foreign, English-speaking female friends), the only person I could think of inviting was, of course, T. But I couldn`t reach her so I was about to leave by myself when I saw her on her way back from Paku and she was happy to come with me to karaoke. I was so much fun....KM is such a hilarious guy! He was singing Britney Spears song and swiveling his hips to the music. YN, his sexy friend, became even sexier when he sang RHCP`s "Scar Tissue" in this incredibly sexy voice....he even had good English pronunciation! I was like *sigh*. But the one who took the cake was TH, who had joined KM and I at the Irish Pub. This was my third time seeing him and...well, I don`t know, in spite of the fact that he looks dorky at first glace, he exudes some sort of confidence/charm that`s really sexy. He looks like he would be too shy to get up and dance but throughtout the whole night, he was dancing and jumping around. I had told T that he really wasn`t much to look at but she found him really cute. So both of us where "fighting" over him...of course, as a joke since T has a Japanese honey of her own! ;-) At the end of the night, I wanted all of us to take a puricura, or one of those picture booth pictures. Here`s the picture! It`s the best puricura ever...yes, K...EVER :-) Try to guess who`s who!
Something kinda wierd...that day, I had decided to wear a white polo shirt and it ended up that YT, TK, and KM also wore white polo shirts that day! Talk about freaky...
I wish I was writing to tell you that I know exactly where I`m going to live once I come back to Japan, but I`m not....things are still up in the air. However, I think I`m pretty close to deciding and I pray that by tomorrow I will know. It`s a really nice apartment next to the Asa River and it`s near the station and not too far from Nakano-cho, where a lot of people I know live. The only thing is that I will have to buy a fridge and futon and table and shelves...which are not cheap...where`s the Salvation Army when you need it?? Well, at least I don`t have to buy a western-style bed which would be more expensive than a futon.
Two nights ago, KM invited me at the last minute to go karaokeing. He kept telling me to invite my friends and for this situation (I could infer that he wanted me to invite foreign, English-speaking female friends), the only person I could think of inviting was, of course, T. But I couldn`t reach her so I was about to leave by myself when I saw her on her way back from Paku and she was happy to come with me to karaoke. I was so much fun....KM is such a hilarious guy! He was singing Britney Spears song and swiveling his hips to the music. YN, his sexy friend, became even sexier when he sang RHCP`s "Scar Tissue" in this incredibly sexy voice....he even had good English pronunciation! I was like *sigh*. But the one who took the cake was TH, who had joined KM and I at the Irish Pub. This was my third time seeing him and...well, I don`t know, in spite of the fact that he looks dorky at first glace, he exudes some sort of confidence/charm that`s really sexy. He looks like he would be too shy to get up and dance but throughtout the whole night, he was dancing and jumping around. I had told T that he really wasn`t much to look at but she found him really cute. So both of us where "fighting" over him...of course, as a joke since T has a Japanese honey of her own! ;-) At the end of the night, I wanted all of us to take a puricura, or one of those picture booth pictures. Here`s the picture! It`s the best puricura ever...yes, K...EVER :-) Try to guess who`s who!
Something kinda wierd...that day, I had decided to wear a white polo shirt and it ended up that YT, TK, and KM also wore white polo shirts that day! Talk about freaky...
Monday, July 21, 2003
The only certain thing...
Is that I am flying home July 31st. I have the plane ticket and everything. However, I will only be home for about a day or so and then August 2nd, my family and I will be leaving for Mexico for my cousin's wedding. I will be in Mexico for about a week and then I will be back in the US until around August 21st. Please let me know if you will be in the area so we can get together!
Is that I am flying home July 31st. I have the plane ticket and everything. However, I will only be home for about a day or so and then August 2nd, my family and I will be leaving for Mexico for my cousin's wedding. I will be in Mexico for about a week and then I will be back in the US until around August 21st. Please let me know if you will be in the area so we can get together!
It was too good to be true after all....
I won't be able to live in the really apartment that I went to see two weeks ago. I thought of all the things that could go wrong and, of course, I didn't think of this one. Apparently, the girl asked her landlady if it was ok for me to sublet the apartment and she said no. I don't want to jump into conclusions, but I have a feeling that a big part of the reason the landlady said no is because I am a foreigner. Unfortunately, that is the reality here...
Which means I had to start up the tedious task of finding an apartment again. Fortunately, someone at Soka's International Center was nice enough to go with me to Gakkusei Hall, where they have a real-estate section, and translate for me. Hopefully today we will go look at apartments. Also, RH, one of my RA's knows of an apartment that is for rent. And tomorrow TK will go with me to the real-estate office translate...that's so nice of him. I really appreciate it. So I pray that by this week, my housing situation will be solved....
I won't be able to live in the really apartment that I went to see two weeks ago. I thought of all the things that could go wrong and, of course, I didn't think of this one. Apparently, the girl asked her landlady if it was ok for me to sublet the apartment and she said no. I don't want to jump into conclusions, but I have a feeling that a big part of the reason the landlady said no is because I am a foreigner. Unfortunately, that is the reality here...
Which means I had to start up the tedious task of finding an apartment again. Fortunately, someone at Soka's International Center was nice enough to go with me to Gakkusei Hall, where they have a real-estate section, and translate for me. Hopefully today we will go look at apartments. Also, RH, one of my RA's knows of an apartment that is for rent. And tomorrow TK will go with me to the real-estate office translate...that's so nice of him. I really appreciate it. So I pray that by this week, my housing situation will be solved....
