My new pad...

My new pad is a 2DK. 2 bedroom dining room and kitchen. Below, you will find pictures of my, wait for it, 2 bedrooms, dining room/kitchen. The last is the view from the bedroom. Not special, but not bad. Enjoy.

Bout over it

Feeling better today, but my stomach is still a little a-twitter. It could be, however, due to the fact that TODAY IS MY LAST DAY AT NOVA. "Woooo!" I wonder who my last students will be? Will it be a fun day? I hope so. I have not really told any of my students I am leaving-I will just not be there on Saturday. Didn't really know what to say, and most of them dont really care anyway. NOVA turns over instructors so often it must keep it really interesting for the students; always someone new to talk to.

Anyway, looking forward to being out of there, going to miss the students (individually), and excited to be going somewhere new. Again, "Woooo!"

bunch of crap

OK, so the last few days have been a bunch of crap. I got food poisoning on saturday night, and tried to go to work on sunday. Big mistake, that was really rough. After that I got sick on monday, and called in sick. Now it is tuesday and i still dont feel good, but I can't afford to call in sick again so i am off to work sick again. 8 hours of dancing monkey while ill is NOT how I like to spend my days. Wish me luck.

Details

http://www.city.konan.lg.jp/english/index.html

http://altiacentral.com/index.php

Ok, here is the details for my new job. I am working for ALTIA, in Konan City. The first link above is my new city, the second is my new company. I will be working at 5 elementary schools monday through friday, 830 to 430 or so. The pay is about 400 more than NOVA, and the rent is about the same. I will be living in Konan starting April 1st. Bennies include a possible car, a school that probably no one speaks english at, and an apaprtment that I have not yet seen! Wish me luck...

Dude...we're in Japan.

Just a few minutes reflection on the fact that I am actually in Japan now. Have been here long enough to have settled into a sort of bored indifference to that fact, in fact. =) I imagined it for so long, and so far it is similar to what I expected. I did not expect to have such a difficult time with the fact that I live so close to my ex fiannce. I dont really want to call, but I also expected her to be a part of this for so long that it is impossible to seperate them within my mind in so many ways. I am not losing any sleep over it, but there are inumerable things here to remind me. She was intrinsicly Japanese, and here everything is intrinsicly Japanese. The personalities, tics, and enunciation are similar. I can not help but think of her. But I have not called. I suppose I am not over her yet, but I am doing a wonderful job of carrying on anyway. Some who know her well would tell you that I have not mentioned her name in nearly a year now. On purpose, I must admit, and I am sure we both know that she always lies beneath the surface of our conversations. Life is hard, isnt it? She is not good enough anymore; others have taught me that. I hope they know who they are-though I am not allowed to mention their names. Some know her; some do not. She is amazing, and I owe her a great debt. Did I mention Japan beat Korea? I was rooting for Korea. Damn. Cant win fer losin.

I must be grown up...

I wear a tie to work. Oh well, hell comes in many forms. It is looking good to start Konan April 1st; or at least training. I have a few more things to do, but I am hopeful. I am just waiting to make it all happen. I wont be able to post as regular after I move; I think I will be without internet for a month or so again. Oh well, again, hell has many forms.

Not much to report, actually. Same shit different day. I found a new flavor of Chu hai I like! YUZU. Kind of an orange thing. Whoo hoo!

Fruitation?

Well, I am happy to announce, albeit tentativly, that I have a new job. I will be an ALT at an elementary school in Konan; its about 20 minuts or so outside Nagoya on the train. I will be working, hopefully, for ALTIA. The pay is average, but it looks good so far as everything else goes. I am not sure because I have not seen any paperwork yet, nor an email. I got a phone call last night at about 945 from the hiring guy. I am pretty happy about it, and also very nrevous. This job will be completely different from what I do now. Instead of being iniundated with English on a day to day basis I will suffer a dearth of English speakers. Instead of being incredibly busy every day I will probably be staring at the walls a great deal of the time. BUT... I get to play with the booger pickers all day! That should be fun!

hot and heavy

Chilling. Had a another flurry of emails and calls from an ALT company-ALTIA-last night. This morning I arranged another interview with COSMO school for nagoya schools. If I get that I will be very happy with my pay! it is nearly a third higher than what I am making now, and twice the rais offered by ALTIA. I think my phone bill is going to be astronomical this month. I have talked on the phone at least 30 minutes total. I know that sounds pretty reasonable, but around here it is not! That will be like a billion dollars or more. I may have to sell my computer to pay for it. So, for some reason everyone wants to hire in the last two weeks of the month. Not a good thing per se, but not as bad as it could be. I will be screwing NOVA pretty good on notice, but there seems to be little option otherwise. Oh well, they piss me off anyway, right?

humming bathroom fan

That interview was a complete waste of time. Why the hell do I bother?

Human Touch...

Well, day two of my staring at the walls binge. Today is involuntary though; I was supposed to get directions via email for yet another job interview. I have not recieved them, and the interview is 2 hours and 45 minutes away. I am yet again unimpresed bby how they do business here in Japan-at least in the "English" or Eikaiwa industry. What a bunch of fuckers.

Anyway, not much going on here. Got a package from an old friend in Korea-all the fixins for some yum yum good Korean food. Now all I need is skill at cooking Korean food. Mine is never as good. Though, my kimchi soup is getting quite tasty if I do say so myself.

So this interview is the third. Apparently, in Japanese, the third time is also the charm. We shall see if for me this in fact the case. I hope so, but I actually am not really even sure what city the job is in. I only know it pays a lot more than I get now, and it is a high school. A friend of a friend turned me onto it. It is supposed to be a sweet deal.

In more important news: I finished downloading the first 15 seasons of the Simpsons in its entirety. I am now set to watch my Simpsons. That will help keep me sane. Now I should move on to family guy, but with all the music and vidoes I have been picking up here my HARD DRIVE IS FULL!!! Crap. Shoulda sprung for the biggest one. I will work that one out soon enough...

Sunday again

Decent enough weekend, I suppose. Did some stuff, saw some people. I bought a briefcase, or rather brief bag. The hard case has rather fallen out of fashion now a days. I am trying to get that "professional" look down, and better fit in with the Japanese worker drones. When in Rome; where a drab suit and stare blankly at the wall. Ok, well I am not really trying to fit in, and that is good because I never will.

The interview went well, but now I am being taunted with a little piece of string. I am not sure what they are doing or thinking, but I suspect I DID NOT get the job. However, I am still talking to them, and so I am not sure one way or another. (leaning towards no, though.)

Ok, and so here is another picture for you. Today is a women’s clothing store in Sakae, Nagoya. Does the name seem better suited for a "personal lubricant" marketed towards gay men? You can see what they are trying to say, but perhaps they should have consulted a native speaker!

The second picture is my nametag for kids classes! I have been considering adding some additional pieces of flair. You can never have too much flair on a nametag!

The third is some weird foreign candy I am adding for MIKE. BIG BLACK MIKE. How does this one grab ya big guy? I think these images; this and the one you posted, are from South America.