Japan_Bound
Saturday, May 28, 2005
9 Whole Days - Woo Hoo!!! . . .
That may not seem like a long vacation, but I'm certainly not complaining about it! Alot of people say my company sucks for vacation time, but let's look at things logically: I had 5 days off when Jess first arrived in September, I had 3 1/2 weeks off when my mom and David were here in Dec/Jan, I had 12 days off when Sean&Crew came to Japan in March, and now I have 9 days off in May/June. Not too shabby if you ask me - that's certainly more than the week off I used to get at Trifour.
Anyway, I haven't been here in a while as usual; it's funny to look at my blog entries from the time leading up to coming and immediately after arriving as I was updating almost daily. And now, the longer I've been here, the entries become more and more infrequent. Sorry guys.
Here's what we've been up to:
** Last week Natsue's sister and brother-in-law had us over for a BBQ at their house. We got to meet some family friends and Natsue's cousin, and Natsue's sisters and nephews were there as well. We had an amazing time-Jess and I both remarked afterwards that we hadn't realized how much we'd been missing the whole family BBQ thing. We just sat outside on their back patio from about 1 until 9, drinking, eating, chatting in half English/half Japanese, and laughing more than I've laughed in a really long time. My stomach actually ached for a few hours after we got home. Everyone treated us like absolute gold and told us we are now part of their family forever. You know how the "I-love-you's" start when people are drinking, but this happened before the real drinking had even started. And Natsue said her brother-in-law is usually very quiet and reserved, but he completely opened up to us, was hugging us, made us promise to take care of Natsue while she's in Canada, told us we're welcome at his home any time, and then told Jesse he's crazy for not marrying me which started a 1/2 hour conversation where everyone proceeded to attempt to convince Jesse to marry me. Ahem ... no comment! Anyway, we had a truly wonderful time and it gave us what we needed to get through the next few months. I feel so fortunate that Natsue stopped me in the convenience store and invited me to dinner all those many months ago . . .
** Currently our passion is eating well and going to the gym, which we've been doing every day (except Tuesdays when the $#^*% gym is closed, at which point we do Tae Bo). Some of us are more fanatical than others though (ahem), case-in-point: Jess will often suggest going to the gym a 2nd time, or going for a 3 AM bike ride all over Kyoto when he can't sleep, and I quickly reply with "go to Hell." You may think that's rude, but I think it's inspirational and motivational; Hell is a looooong ways away, so think of the cardio workout he'd get on the way. I'm just trying to encourage his health and longevity.
** Our British friends are leaving in 2 weeks, so we've been trying to spend time with them whenever possible. Thursday I met Julia in Osaka for din and Jess met Dom for drinks; later we all hung out at their apartment and Jess and I didn't end up leaving until 5 AM to catch the first train home.
** Yesterday, Friday, Jess and I took Natsue out for a sayonara dinner. She'd invited a couple of her closest Japanese friends and we had the BEST time. It's truly amazing what you can do and how you can communicate with broken English and broken Japanese. Jess and Takafumi (that's a guy friend of Natsue's) got onto the topic of perverts, as there are several different kinds in Japan apparently, and Jess knows the Japanese words for all of them (thanks to the guys at work who obviously didn't start off by teaching him "hello" and Grandma's house language - they jumped right to the dirty words and have taught Jess everything he'd ever need to know about picking up a Japanese girl and scoring with her while speaking Japanese). We had such a good time that we didn't even realize what time it was until we were politely asked to leave the restaurant and all of us just barely made the last trains home.
** Today we're off to the gym and then to JR Kyoto station to figure out what bus we need to catch to Itami airport tomorrow. Then we just need to pack and we'll be on our way at about 6 tomorrow morning. Okinawa, here we come . . . WOO HOO!!! I'll update with lots of links and email pics when we get back - atleast you know that's one promise I never break.
That may not seem like a long vacation, but I'm certainly not complaining about it! Alot of people say my company sucks for vacation time, but let's look at things logically: I had 5 days off when Jess first arrived in September, I had 3 1/2 weeks off when my mom and David were here in Dec/Jan, I had 12 days off when Sean&Crew came to Japan in March, and now I have 9 days off in May/June. Not too shabby if you ask me - that's certainly more than the week off I used to get at Trifour.
Anyway, I haven't been here in a while as usual; it's funny to look at my blog entries from the time leading up to coming and immediately after arriving as I was updating almost daily. And now, the longer I've been here, the entries become more and more infrequent. Sorry guys.
Here's what we've been up to:
** Last week Natsue's sister and brother-in-law had us over for a BBQ at their house. We got to meet some family friends and Natsue's cousin, and Natsue's sisters and nephews were there as well. We had an amazing time-Jess and I both remarked afterwards that we hadn't realized how much we'd been missing the whole family BBQ thing. We just sat outside on their back patio from about 1 until 9, drinking, eating, chatting in half English/half Japanese, and laughing more than I've laughed in a really long time. My stomach actually ached for a few hours after we got home. Everyone treated us like absolute gold and told us we are now part of their family forever. You know how the "I-love-you's" start when people are drinking, but this happened before the real drinking had even started. And Natsue said her brother-in-law is usually very quiet and reserved, but he completely opened up to us, was hugging us, made us promise to take care of Natsue while she's in Canada, told us we're welcome at his home any time, and then told Jesse he's crazy for not marrying me which started a 1/2 hour conversation where everyone proceeded to attempt to convince Jesse to marry me. Ahem ... no comment! Anyway, we had a truly wonderful time and it gave us what we needed to get through the next few months. I feel so fortunate that Natsue stopped me in the convenience store and invited me to dinner all those many months ago . . .
** Currently our passion is eating well and going to the gym, which we've been doing every day (except Tuesdays when the $#^*% gym is closed, at which point we do Tae Bo). Some of us are more fanatical than others though (ahem), case-in-point: Jess will often suggest going to the gym a 2nd time, or going for a 3 AM bike ride all over Kyoto when he can't sleep, and I quickly reply with "go to Hell." You may think that's rude, but I think it's inspirational and motivational; Hell is a looooong ways away, so think of the cardio workout he'd get on the way. I'm just trying to encourage his health and longevity.
** Our British friends are leaving in 2 weeks, so we've been trying to spend time with them whenever possible. Thursday I met Julia in Osaka for din and Jess met Dom for drinks; later we all hung out at their apartment and Jess and I didn't end up leaving until 5 AM to catch the first train home.
** Yesterday, Friday, Jess and I took Natsue out for a sayonara dinner. She'd invited a couple of her closest Japanese friends and we had the BEST time. It's truly amazing what you can do and how you can communicate with broken English and broken Japanese. Jess and Takafumi (that's a guy friend of Natsue's) got onto the topic of perverts, as there are several different kinds in Japan apparently, and Jess knows the Japanese words for all of them (thanks to the guys at work who obviously didn't start off by teaching him "hello" and Grandma's house language - they jumped right to the dirty words and have taught Jess everything he'd ever need to know about picking up a Japanese girl and scoring with her while speaking Japanese). We had such a good time that we didn't even realize what time it was until we were politely asked to leave the restaurant and all of us just barely made the last trains home.
** Today we're off to the gym and then to JR Kyoto station to figure out what bus we need to catch to Itami airport tomorrow. Then we just need to pack and we'll be on our way at about 6 tomorrow morning. Okinawa, here we come . . . WOO HOO!!! I'll update with lots of links and email pics when we get back - atleast you know that's one promise I never break.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Another Hodge-podge . . .
I know it's been a REALLY long time since I last updated - this may be the longest hiatus yet. In my defense, we've both been really sick with colds (well, as usual, me longer than Jesse).
Here's what's been going on:
****My boss recently spoke to me about two different jobs I'd be offered if I wasn't leaving; the first would be a position at Head Office (there is one in Osaka and one in Tokyo - it's a BIG deal) for several months helping to write the new text books that are coming out next year. And after that I'd be made Kids Leader in my area (responsible for Kids training etc. for 15 schools). They're both huge opportunities, and I'd love to take the jobs if I was staying, but not even that could keep me here. I'm ready to come home baby!! Really, what matters to me is that even being offered makes me feel great; it shows me how far I've come, how much I've accomplished, and how much my employer trusts me. You can't beat that!
****Jess and I have been eating sooo healthy for soooo long now. I exercise every day and we're about to join a gym as Jesse's boss told him there is in fact one nearby. I can't wait. Still don't think I'll be running up and down the beach with everything blowing in the breeze once we get to Okinawa, but I'm definitely going swimming.
****A friend from work took the same package deal to Okinawa and is there now. He emailed my phone to tell me it's gorgeous and sent an amazing picture of the beach - now I'm sooo excited. Plus, he found out that our hotel has those fences to keep sharks away from the beach - I'm feeling a bit nervous that they're even deemed necessary, but will no longer feel paranoid about even putting a toe in the water I've waited my whole life to see!
****Friday we went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Osaka to have dinner for Jesse's birthday. I had a late shift last night and he had plans to meet our Brit friends in Osaka, so I wanted to make sure we did something for his birthday. Our stomachs were not at all impressed at being filled so full with unhealthy food, considering what we'd been eating up until then. We had potato skins, chicken fajitas, too much to drink, and a huge brownie/ice cream thing. Oh God we felt like crap on the train ride home, but it was so yummy!
****In other exciting news, I have a female student stalking me. She's married and really nice, but is also really creepy. She's decided we're best friends and that we're really close (she told me this - I couldn't make this up if I tried) and has started asking me to spend time with her outside of work (thank God I can fall back on that good old Nova rule that says we can't associate with students). Now she's started bringing me gifts; today a bracelet she made (actually she makes amazing jewellery) and some rice for dinner (didn't eat that). I'm trying to deal with it tactfully because, as I said she is nice, but it's all just getting to be a bit much.
I know it's been a REALLY long time since I last updated - this may be the longest hiatus yet. In my defense, we've both been really sick with colds (well, as usual, me longer than Jesse).
Here's what's been going on:
****My boss recently spoke to me about two different jobs I'd be offered if I wasn't leaving; the first would be a position at Head Office (there is one in Osaka and one in Tokyo - it's a BIG deal) for several months helping to write the new text books that are coming out next year. And after that I'd be made Kids Leader in my area (responsible for Kids training etc. for 15 schools). They're both huge opportunities, and I'd love to take the jobs if I was staying, but not even that could keep me here. I'm ready to come home baby!! Really, what matters to me is that even being offered makes me feel great; it shows me how far I've come, how much I've accomplished, and how much my employer trusts me. You can't beat that!
****Jess and I have been eating sooo healthy for soooo long now. I exercise every day and we're about to join a gym as Jesse's boss told him there is in fact one nearby. I can't wait. Still don't think I'll be running up and down the beach with everything blowing in the breeze once we get to Okinawa, but I'm definitely going swimming.
****A friend from work took the same package deal to Okinawa and is there now. He emailed my phone to tell me it's gorgeous and sent an amazing picture of the beach - now I'm sooo excited. Plus, he found out that our hotel has those fences to keep sharks away from the beach - I'm feeling a bit nervous that they're even deemed necessary, but will no longer feel paranoid about even putting a toe in the water I've waited my whole life to see!
****Friday we went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Osaka to have dinner for Jesse's birthday. I had a late shift last night and he had plans to meet our Brit friends in Osaka, so I wanted to make sure we did something for his birthday. Our stomachs were not at all impressed at being filled so full with unhealthy food, considering what we'd been eating up until then. We had potato skins, chicken fajitas, too much to drink, and a huge brownie/ice cream thing. Oh God we felt like crap on the train ride home, but it was so yummy!
****In other exciting news, I have a female student stalking me. She's married and really nice, but is also really creepy. She's decided we're best friends and that we're really close (she told me this - I couldn't make this up if I tried) and has started asking me to spend time with her outside of work (thank God I can fall back on that good old Nova rule that says we can't associate with students). Now she's started bringing me gifts; today a bracelet she made (actually she makes amazing jewellery) and some rice for dinner (didn't eat that). I'm trying to deal with it tactfully because, as I said she is nice, but it's all just getting to be a bit much.
****We found a renter to take a place and buy all our furniture! Woo hoo! Now all we have to do is sell off our electronics one by one (stereos, printer, tv/vcr, dvd player). But that shouldn't be a problem because foreigners are always looking to buy cheap electronics in sayonara sales.
****Yesterday, Jesse's birthday, he ended up spending the evening in Kyoto instead of Osaka, so I met he and our friends at the Pig&Whistle after work. We stayed out until about 2 - had a great time because Dom and Julia are our best friends in Japan, and then they came back with us and spent the night here (missed the last train obviously). They're leaving June 10th, so we're tyring to pack as much time in with them as possible. Jesse is going to be so lost without Dom - probably going to drive me crazy! About Jesse's birthday, he only heard from three people - his mom called, my mom sent an e-card and Natsue actually remembered and sent him a card in the mail. There better be a giant shipment of cards coming in the mail on Monday morning. He'd never say so, but I think he thought everyone forgot. You jerks!!
****That's about all for now. I've got to eat something cause I'm starving after having just worked out for an hour - there's a huge plate of pineapple and watermelon in the fridge with my name on it and I've been dying to dig into it all day. (For Laurs: I'm craving fruit). But seriously, these days I am!!! Take care guys! Oyasumi nasai (good night).
