Bored at work

I had two classes today, and I am now sitting on my ass doing nothing; big fun in little Japan. I should be studying, but I got like 3 hours of sleep last night, due to a coffee error, and I am to friggin tired.

So, I am still sick of teaching. I like the kids, and when I am in front of the class I have a great time; the job is a blast, but I hate the teachers. In some cases, I actually HATE them. At worst they are racist and arrogant, of course at best they can be really great peole-it just does not seem to happen that way all that often.

I have started doing some preliminaries on a job search for the end of this year. I have not decided whether or not I will take a full time language course (my favorite option), or seek that bigger, better, faster job in....something (a more lucrative option). My resume is pretty much up to date, and I need only to tailor it appropriate to whatever job I am working on getting, but that has to wait for an actual application to be be filed, so we are holding there. For now, I am, like when writing paper, gathering resources, and trying to gauge the winds. Hopefully this will all turn out well...

Anyway, things are going good, except when I have to go to work, and I have only about 6 months left until whatever comes next.

OH! I ran into Aaron Randolph online...actually, he added me as a friend on myspace about 6 months ago and just now got around to figuring out who I was! We are talking about visiting each other. Speaking of which, I think I will research the price of tickets to shanghai....that will kill 20 minutes....

fan...

I have spent my whole life waiting for my life to begin , but in reality... this is my life...what does that mean?

Stone Cold

How the hell did I end up an expert on something so utterly useless? I been out and about in this world like what. ten fucking years? What the hell have I done? Not a goddamn thing to speak of. I am so jealous of my friends out there doing the deed, and sacrificing for the greater good. I sit here alone, doing nothing for the world, or at least not attempting to. I am utterly useless, and generally unimpressed with myself. I suck. I hate my life.

AMUCK AMCUK AMUCK!

NOW I remember why I had been growing to hate this job! Yet again, the sixth grade here is driving me nuts. The teacher is translating EVERYTHING; including sit down, and stand up. They have been studying English for six years at this point; nearly two with me personally, and they don’t get that? The first grade can understand that HALFWAY THROUGH THE FIRST LESSON, and these children need to have it explained every time I use it in class? This school also refuses to speak Japanese to me. The principal will actually chide the teachers to speak in English to me, and always makes a special and concerted effort to make sure I leave the school as soon as my classes are finished for the day. In short, the principal is communicating to the staff that I am not a part of the schools group, that I am an outsider. I can say, at least, that these teachers and students all know my name though, at my school next week they still call me English Teacher, as if that was my name. On a positive note, I got invited to my favorite schools undokai (kind of like a track meet, but a much bigger deal.) in two weeks, and they even told me that if I come, on Saturday, I have to work setting up with them. They have always treated me like one their teachers, and I greatly appreciate it. However, I am still done. I need to find a new job ASAP, before I lose my frickin mind

I think it was the hug that did it.

I had to share, be sure to look below, as I posted twice tonight.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/12/AR2007071202356.html?sub=AR

SOUL POWER!!!

I just came up on a whole mess'a James Brown, and that makes a guy happy. My next desire is for a whole mess'a Stevie Wonder. Life is good... Anyway, started my conversation group, and it went well. Hopefully it will continue and continue to be fun! I have been impressed with myself since I got back. I forgot a lot less than I thought I would in a month, and I have also started to feel like I can actually speak Japanese! I usually just feel like I know a whole bunch of random words and a smattering of grammar to boot. I am still lost most of the time, but I can hold fairly normal conversations with people now, but get hung up my lack of vocabulary. Just look around whatever room you are in now and then try to imagine just trying to learn the names of everything you can see now. After that, imagine going to the bank! I kind of like how hard life is for me here, it keeps things interesting. Anyway, if I can just manage to squeeze out a few more hours a week of practice time, say maybe 5 as a good start, I will be sitting pretty in short order. I got the basics of grammar, I know about 400 Kanji, and I can understand the words I know pretty easy. What I need now is to improve my vocabulary, immensely, and to train my mouth and head and ears to work together and actually make some use of it. Use the words a few dozen times, and they sort of end up in muscle memory; they just fall out of your head.

HOLD IT NOW...HIT IT!

OMG

830 at night, dark as coal, and it is 84 degrees. Screw this!

Back in Japan!

Home was great; but again I accomplished very little. I saw too few people, went too few places, and had nowhere near as many cups of Zoka coffee as I intended. Oh well, what can you do? So, since getting back I went to the new mall in Gifu; where oddly enough, while studying in Starbucks I met two of my students from Kusai Elementary. More odd yet, I know their mother from studying at the Starbucks in Apita in Konan; where we always chat about her kids. It was funny, and the kids were super excited to see me; that is always great, if a bit loud. The new mall is great! There is an Eddie Bauer, which I hoped for, and of all things a Sports Authority, which is where I had to go in the US to buy my underarmour shirts and skivvies-I highly recommend this clothing for people who live in hot wet climes, or who go camping. VERY comfortable, and the anti-microbial treatment means you can wear the same clothes for a week and not smell too bad. (Yes, I did try this, although I limited my experiment to 3.5 days.) Just about everything I wanted to buy in the states I found at this new mall. Oh well, at least I know where to get it next time; at a premium price, of course.

I am working on getting a Japanese Conversation Group together in Nagoya now. I am starting through the Nagoya International Club, but I am thinking of separating it, and using it as an additional recruitment tool for the club itself. If I advertise it separately, and then just make advertising available at the meetings it might work out well. We shall see. I am becoming quite the little community organizer! This complete lack of any real life during the week has its benefits.

I have just finished my first class! I am actually surprised how much Japanese I can still recall on demand, but I am definitely in a category I lovingly refer to as SUCK. The kids were great, a little tired and listless at first, but I took it easy on them, and tried to make it easy, exciting, and fun and they came around in the end. It remains to be seen how the rest of the little buggers are, but I am in top form today-despite the oppressive heat. I think I just saw a monk in a little orange robe burst into flames!!! Now THAT is hot!