yokatta ne!

my wallet has been safely returned to my bag! ii ne!! two spunky japanese guys found it and they kindly took it to the bar they work at and called my friend (whose number was in my wallet). so i went to pick it up after work tonight, armed with some japanese sentences, and jumped up and down with joy when they showed it to me.

one of my students gave me 3 little silver van gogh pins today, randomly while i was waiting for the elevator. he's a lovely old man who looks like colonel sanders.

i had tuna sandwiches and onigiri for dinner tonight.

sakura

mornin'. well, it's 12.34am so it technically is. another day of work done and crossed off, just 3 more to go and then it's my glorious monday!! i HOPE HOPE HOPE all the pretty lil' cherry blossoms haven't floated away by then. they are in full bloom right now, indeed some are already flittering off the branches like snow. they're just so dang beautiful when you get a bunch of them trees together, even the boys make special efforts to appreciate them. just 3 more days, please don't go little sakura...

if they've packed their bags and trotted off by monday i may still get a chance to see them in hakone. hakone is a mountain town about an hour and a half away from here, famous for onsen (hot springs). the cherry blossoms bloom a little later out there. i have a day off for my birthday next month so am making plans to soak in sake, green tea and coffee "flavoured" baths! :) what a treat!

well, not much to report really, except that today a student told me about a really interesting japanese novel he read called "kafka on the shore". it sounds extremely wierd. am dying to get my hands on it.

my eyelids are dripping down my eyeballs, so i best be off to beddy-byes. sweet dreams all xx

sorted

rolled out of bed this morning at about 9.40am (nice and early!) so that i could sort out the wallet dilemma. boy did my japanese get an exercising! no english at the bank but i managed to tell them that i lost my bank card and needed a new one. as i understand it a new one will be sent to me in a week... but i could be wrong...! went to the city office too, for a new gaijin card (my id, and the thing that saves me from spending a night in a prison cell if i'm randomly stopped on the street by police).

work trundled along ok today. there was only one student i wanted to slip a sleeping pill to. it was raining when i finished at 9. i had an umbrella somewhere in the bottom of my bag but i couldn't be bothered grappling around for it, so i just popped my hood over my head and walked home for half an hour in the downpour. it was kinda fun, but would've been even more so if i hadn't forgotton my ipod this morning...

sorry, am babbling now. i like having a bloggy-diary-thingy to write :) only thing is, i haven't been writing in my old-fashioned book diary. really should tell it some secrets.

g'nite xx

dang.

finally woke up today at about 3pm, hungover like a dog that can't stop vomiting. i had a sneaky suspicion that i'd
lost my camera in the whirlwind that was last night, but upon checking the bag (once i found it!) i discovered it was still in my possession. but CRAP! my wallet was gone. i have never lost my wallet before and always dreaded the day. so i had no choice but to function (usually when hungover i play dead for the day). i dragged myself into fuj with the unavoidable spew on the roadside along the way and met a friend at the station. we went to the koban (police box) and she did all the talking (they don't speak english there). they don't have my wallet, but now they have my number in case it turns up. not likely. WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! i still haven't cancelled my credit card as i can't get through on the asb bank phone number :(

last night was a good time though. a blur of izakayas, bars and karaoke! some crazy nut ordered a plate of deepfried little crabs! whole crabs, shell and all! i was dared to eat one, and seen as they were already dead i couldn't see the harm in it. i'm not one to pass on a dare. it was like eating a wad of dried leaves, don't reckon i'll be eating little deepfried whole crabs again. it was a great turnout - the best yet, about 25 of us fujisawa nova-ites and cling-ons.

and, the verdict on the big decision... my friend tamao and i are booking a trip to china for early july, so i'll stay 'til then. you yobbos won't miss me anyways :)

photos of last night's antics here http://wedged.showcard.co.nz/gallery/album03

d xx

listless

ok, a little ramble with no lists in it this time... walked to work this morning bright and early and made up my mind to hand in my resignaton form today. as soon as i told myself i would indeed do it i felt unbelievably giddy with excitement. but when i got to work and told all my workmaties that i was up and leaving i was somehow persuaded to sleep on it. so that's what i'm doing tonight, a little prayer will be said to the goddess of reason before bed. despite that the day went pretty smoothly. i had all the regular old men in my voice class this evening, going on about loveless japanese marriages. they told me that the closest word they have for 'love' in japanese means something more like 'consideration'. hang, that's depressing. explains why they're all so frail. one more day of work to drag myself through tomorrow, then a staff party at a great lil' italian restaurant (yay!), and then glorious monday's off!! i'm going to paint, i've started painting another picture in my head so i better buy a canvas. i forgot to mention that while i was recovering on the sand at the beach yesterday i found a very cool little dried-out starfish. it's now sitting on my shelf. wonder if i can get it through customs?

technical shortcomings (i'm just a girl)

um, how do i put photos on this here blog? i have tried to figure it out myself, but the best i could do was this: oooh, groovy writing...! hmmm.

the best part of my fake sickie today was collapsing on the beach (in the middle of my jog). although there was lots of rubbish on the beach there was also lots of sand and it felt real good! the painting didn't get started but music was enjoyed. i did a lot of thinking today about the next 12 months, and this is what i've come up with:

1) get rid of the student loan in may and then go home!
2) stay a bit longer and go to china for a week in july and then go home!
3) wait til i get 2 weeks paid holidays in october and then go home!

it's a toughy. there are things i like about japan (of course), like hamsters, okonomiyaki, the landscaped gardens, nikko, the old-style roofs, grannies on bicycles, onigiri... but the bottom line is i'm happier in nz with gorgeous (clean!) beaches just a stroll away, PIES, the ability to eavesdrop on the bus, peps, kiwi advertising, and most of all whanau and my amazing friends. while japan is the best bet for making a quick buck, money ain't a good enough reason when happiness is at stake.

would be rather spiffy to have some security to come back to though so if anyone has any ideas of some interesting lil' jobs for me, that'd be greatly appreciated :) i kinda like the idea of doing some apple thinning or some other orchardy work...

anyway, i digress. if anyone can tell me how to put photos on my blog i would very much like to do that :)

g'nite xx

migraine

am sitting in bed feeling a smidge guilty as i toppatsued today (called in sick)... it's only my second toppatsu in a whole year! i figure i just need a day to catch up on sleep and laundry as i haven't had one since my return from nz. it's cold today but some cherry blossom trees have started to bud... they should be in full bloom in about a week. cherry blossoms really are something to go on about here. the petals will be falling like snowflakes they will.

plan for the day:
1. get up
2. hang my washing out
3. go for a jog to the beach with kazaroony
4. find something delicious for lunch (maybe katsudon?)
5. put some music on and start another painting
6. at leisure til bedtime (which WILL be early for once).

considering it's already 11.33am i better skedaddle! kaz wants to run in 20 minutes... oh m'god this'll be painfully funny! WHY did i bring my running shoes to japan???? :/

eh?

how the hang does this website work???

well well

ain't this groovy... :)