Oh... my... God...

My life is complete.

Jen and I went to Osaka today to go shopping for a birthday dress for her. We didn't find a dress, but we did find an import store that had m-fing chedder brats. And Diet Dr. Pepper. It was well worth it.

It's raining, it's pouring...

Dr. Mock to ER 1, STAT.

The color always looks way better in photoshop. I must have it on the wrong color space...

Felt MacGyver-ish this morning before work. Used my curtains and floor to ceiling sliding doors, plus a weak ass morning sun, as a huge softbox. The interior of my apartment is white, so it was kinda like a three walled reflector. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

Again, I was born to be a doctor. It just LOOKS right!

Paging Dr. Mock

I have to wear a mask at work now, and I must say, it's not that bad. I kinda like it. However, I was wearing a white jacket today, and I realized,

I look like a dentist.

One of my students said I looked like a doctor, so I walked around with my hands up like I just scrubbed into a surgery hahaha. It's the little things that make me laugh...

"I love George Lucas."

Today I taught a unit on comedy and comedians. Which is difficult if your students have no idea who you're talking about. One student read this dialogue about George Carlin, but improvised:

"I love George Lucas. He's hilarious."

Not the same. I corrected her, and she asked, "Who's George Lucas then?". I said Star Wars (duh). Blank stare. Seriously? I got up and did the light saber imitation and said "Luke.... I am your father." No response. Some people....

I also talked about Dave Chappelle. I told her to look him up on YouTube. Too bad she won't "get it" because it's in English.

Photos, etc.

Chicken fried rice I made the other day. I think I need a bigger pan...










The view of the moon from my balcony.












Miho and I at an izakaiya.

GREEN MAN!

This is for anyone who watches "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". (Man I miss that show...).

Someone mail me $50 so I can buy this!

"And you're the wildcard, because that flame you just blew was baaaaaadass!"

Osaka All-Nighter

Yesterday after work, I came home and changed, and then immediately got on a train for Osaka. I met up with Lamika and Luke, and we got some dinner at this little hole in the wall (Lamika - "crab pinchers", and Real Men Wear Nautica). It was good, I had gyoza, what else is new :)
We were waiting to meet up with some more people, so we wandered around Osaka and got a few pints. When we did meet up with the group, we went to a few bars, and then this club that played house music. If you're unfamiliar with house music, Google it and read the Wikipedia page. While I don't listen to house, nor do I dance, I had A BLAST! My friend Adam is really into house music, and man can he dance! So I spent a few house just hanging behind him, trying to copy him haha. It was fun.
When we left the club at 5:30am, IT WAS FREAKING SUNSHINE OUTISDE! I didn't know the sun came up that early. So not only did Lamika and I stick out as foreigners, but we wore shades too. Oh well, everyone we saw was doing the same thing we were (pulling an all-nighter). I also realized when Lamika and I went out seperate ways that we had both worn our sunglasses in the subway haha. Got on the train from Umeda to Sannomiya, and ended up falling asleep. Woke up just as the doors were closing at Sannomiya. Someone actually laughed at me (I had jumped up and attempted to jump out the doors, but ended up just bumbling around in the seat). Hung out on the platform at Suma for a good 15 minutes. Walked home, and finally hit the bed for a nap at 8am. Loooooooooong night! But totally worth it :)


Random Things:

I rip stockings like it's my JOB. It seems like everytime I buy a pack of stockings, I immediately rip at least two. It's so frustrating! Or I'll catch one with my nail, or brush by something in the apartment that snags it and rips it. Grrrr....

Yesterday at work, when I was walking back to the office from grabbing lunch, I saw a guy on a skateboard but it was two separate pieces? Hard to explain, but I'll try: There were two little squares of skateboard deck, and each had two wheels on them. He put one foot on each, and just started half skateboarding - half skating down the street. Weirdest thing I saw yesterday.

Today's a day off, and good Lord I need to clean my apartment.... I'm such a slob! Check out that awesome weather! Torrential rainfall and fog creeping through the mountains. It's a good day to stay inside.

Kobe has been flipping the hell out because two high school students have confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus (Swine flu). They canceled the Jazz Festival this weekend! Calm down people! Japan truly is a nation of overreacters! But I promise, I'll wash my hands more and maybe even don a mask, I won't get sick, Mom :)


LOVE YOU ALL!

Routine

Sorry for the lack of updates lately! Nothing exciting has been going on...

School's GREAT! My students are so fun, and happy and energetic that it makes me job REALLY easy and enjoyable. I wonder if I'm still in the "honeymoon phase". Outside of work, I hang out with Jennifer in Kobe, and haven't gone anywhere lately. I'm going to Osaka tomorrow after work to hang out with a few fellow teachers, and then I think the Kobe Jazz Festival with Jenn & Co. on Sunday. Monday.... I'll clean my apartment, because it's dirty :)

I'll try to take some photos too! Sometimes I wish I had a really small compact camera (hint hint).

Love you!!!!!!!

Postcards & Sweet Tea

I FINALLY bought some stamps ("Kitte wo, kudasai.") so postcards should be arriving in a few weeks? I'm not sure. Let me know when you get one!

I also made 1.5L of sweet tea yesterday. It doesn't quite taste the same, because they don't have Lipton tea or Luzzianne, everything's black tea, yellow tea, jasmine tea... But it was delicious, and I already drank it all, and am making more right now.

"Exprain"

I just heard this from one of my fellow teachers:

"When rife hands you remons.... you go to shopping."

It perfectly sums up some people's grasp of English. I laughed out loud.

Golden Week! - Day Seven: Slices in Osaka

This morning, I left Takatsuki to come home to Kobe. When I got home, Jen called and said she was seeing Anthony off at the JR Station in Sannomiya. We were going to meet up, and we decided to head to Osaka to try and find this pizza place Jen had heard of. I am so glad we went. I was so super freaking excited to eat nachos and pizza! It was super delicious. So yes, I went to Osaka for pizza.

(Photos taken on my cell phone, sorry for the crappy quality)

Golden Week! - Day Five & Six: Takatsuki Jazz Festival

Went to Takatsuki for a Jazz Festival. My fellow teacher Lamika lives there, so I stayed with her. I met many awesome people (Matt, the former teacher at Lamika's school, from Australia; Dane from Australia; Luke, Lamika's coworker; Hiroko and Tomiko, and other's I can remember!).

This was the second band. The singer saw the group of us gaijins in the back of the crowd, and said something into the mic that made everyone turn around and look at us. I'm guessing something like, "Hey, look at all the gaijins!".

Either way, she said, "My name is Lucy I'm from New Orleans!". I don't think I believe her. She tried to stick the mic in Luke's face to get him to sing, but he was too embarassed.














The next venue was on the roof of a department store. Pretty random. Picture One - L to R: Hiroko, Luke, Matt, Lamika. Picture Two - The band that was playing on the roof. Picture Three - Hiroko and Matt. Picture Four - Dane














































Next bar! This poor woman... she could not sing. She tried very hard, however.
























Day Two! Monday, Lamika and I went to JK Cafe to listen to a band that's style was simply "Black". Not "Jazz", or "Etc." like some others, just.... "Black". Interesting. They were AWESOME! The singer was from the States, but the pianist, bass player and drummer were all Japanese. Here is a video of him singing a great blues song:

And finally... two cute boys who made friends with us in one of the bars. I just love his facial expression!

Golden Week! - Day Four: Harborland

Today I walked to Harborland in Kobe. It's about two and a half miles away, and I wanted to take photos right when they turn on the lights at the Kobe Port Tower. So I assumed I would need to be around the area at 6pm. I left my apartment at 12. I definitely walked around Harborland for 5 hours before I said "Forget this" and left. I'll go back again and take night photos, but maybe I won't go by myself :)
In HaRe Department store, there was a small band set up in the middle area. As I walked by, they were singing "Stand By Me" in English. It was pretty good actually. The lead singer had a nice afro haha.

Between my aparment and Harborland I found an old camera store. They had all kinds of lenses, camera bodies, and random things. I will definitely have to go back and explore the store soon.

One of the store owners who says hello to me when I walk past made me laugh so hard today:

Me: "Good afternoon!"
Store Owner: "Aloha!"
Me: confused

Does he think I'm Hawaiian? haha.
In Harborland, on Saturdays they have a flea market. It's awesome.

Golden Week! - Day Three: Kyoto

Day three of Golden Week! Today, Ayako, Lamika, Adam and I went to Kyoto to sightsee. We visited Rokuon-Ji Temple (proper name) also called Kinkaku (popular name) also called The Golden Pavilion (nickname). It was built in the 1220s. That's crazy. Here are some more photos: