Rebecca ([info]marcasitevah) wrote,
@ 2009-02-01 14:50:00
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Current mood: creative
Entry tags:life

久しぶり
Wow..... it's been a while since I posted, huh? Almost a month actually. It's not that I have been too busy, or that I haven't done anything exciting, more like, I didn't feel like it. I haven't even been checking LJ! Oh well.

I'll just do a quick bullet-list run down, if anyone cares.


  • Got over food poisoning, gained some (all?) of the weight back, took care of my car's inspection stuff (let's not talk about the price).

  • Went shopping and spent a ton of presents and shipping for Christmas.

  • Went to a teacher's house for a takoyaki party (only one other teacher came for part of it), and was there making takoyaki and dessert yaki for like 5 hours or something.

  • Went to the end of the year party with my teachers and got seated with 2 of the same people I sat with at the post-Sports Day party (one is the English teacher I sit by in the teacher's room). Not that it was a bad thing - one of them did all of the cooking and it was soooo good (sukiyaki).

  • Went to Hiroshima/Miyajima/Iwakuni.

  • Spent a shit ton more money in Osaka (twice) and went to the Umeda Sky Building.

  • Went to Tokyo/Chiba, got lost in Nihonbashi due to a bad map, got little sleep.

  • Sold all of my not-available in the Johnny's store pictures (either older pics, JWeb pics, or goods sets pics) to an unofficial store for a grand total of ............ 10-yen a pic! I had 482, so I got 4820-yen. They didn't even give me money for the photo albums they were in, nor did they return the albums (there were 7, all from the 100-yen store, and not that I needed them, but good lord!!)!! Total rip off since NONE of those pics are available anymore. I would have preferred to sell them on yahoo auction but since it would have been a pain I didn't. I mean, I can't read/write Japanese well, and with 482 pics, even breaking it in to groups that would still give me too many auctions to make. UGH I bet they are selling my pics for 300+ yen, so 30 times what they paid me. ANGRY!!!!!!!!!

  • Pierced my other ear. Told my mom I pierced myself, and explained all about the gun, and sent her pictures of it.

  • Got snow tires just in time to drive during a bunch of snow. EXPENSIVE! But the guy at the store was cute, and I have my old tires (under my bed).

  • Continue to enjoy my students, even if some of them are morons/strange/moody (they're teens, what do I expect?)

  • Have thus far managed to avoid the flu, despite all of the kids at all three of my schools that have had it (a bunch of classes have been sent home for 3 days at a time)

  • Thanks to part of my Christmas present from my mom I've been decorating/making clothes/bags more. I wish I had found the way to sew the hoodie part of my jacket before I started it though.... Oh well (pain in the ass).

  • Realized that I have grown up more than I thought over the past few months, but also that I still have more growing to do.

  • Decided to stay another year, but have yet to hear from my company if I can re-contract. I would assume yes based on the fact that the teachers, vice principals, principals and a lot of the students are begging me to stay. Well, some of the 3rd years aren't, but they are graduating (although one begged me to transfer to her high school - HAHA). The decision wasn't as easy as it was in past years though.

  • Been watching a lot of stuff - dramas and movies mostly. I hate going to download a drama and it is split into a bunch of parts. A lot of times if I see that I won't download it, no matter how great it is supposed to be, because it is too much of a pain in the ass. Especially if it has passwords on it.

  • Finished reading a funny book from [info]elyndys and am half-way through an equally enlightening, but more dense, book I bought for myself. I love history <3.

  • I've been cleaning more, throwing away crap, organizing, and staying warm (because my current place is better). I still have a bunch of stuff I don't know what to do with though, but maybe I can figure it out soon.




Sometimes it is strange not being in the on-line fandom, but for the most part I am glad I am not involved anymore. It's funny because any time I think maybe I will rejoin, I take a baby step and then get chased away again. The same is true for a lot of things in my life lately though. It certainly doesn't make me regret any of my decisions, and contines to convince me that there is no need for me to go back to the way things were - fandom wise, or starting some new project (which unfortunately my brain hasn't seemed to realize and thus won't stop coming up with ideas - CUT THAT SHIT OUT!).

Random, but I found that two people had de-friended me sometime since..... whenever I last checked. I also let my paid account expire (no need for it really), so I had to go adjust settings again.

OK, back to sewing.

(35 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]meloenchen
2009-02-01 10:22 am UTC (link)
Nice to have you back! ^__^
You have had an eventvull month.

What are you watching lately - more Western stuff or Japanese stuff?
Which show/movie like you most?
Would you show us some pics of your newly made or decorated cloths?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-01 12:25 pm UTC (link)
It's been a busy two months for sure, but I have had a lot of down time too.

I've been watching about half and half with Western (mostly American) stuff and Japanese stuff. I spent this weekend catching up on 30 Rock and The Daily Show. I don't remember all of the movies I watched over the holidays - for sure the new Indiana Jones movie, Finding Neverland and Iron Man. I know there were some others but I can't think of anything off the top of my head.
As for Japanese dramas, for sure I watched the HanaKimi special (and didn't like it at all), Honey and Clover (blah), Puzzle (the 2007 special drama thing, it was OK), Galileo (very good, but I liked Trick more).

Once I finish up with stuff I will post pics. One of my bags is pretty much always a work in progress (haha). I am almost done with the hoodie, and one shirt I am debating about if I want to add anything else. I also made a necklace - well, all I did was take the charm off a keitai strap but hey.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]katherinekate
2009-02-01 10:31 am UTC (link)
Miss you here but you are in my thoughts a lot, I can't get over how little they paid you for the pics!!! What a scam that was but can totally see what you are saying about the hassle of having to put it in auction with that many pics too.

What made me laugh though was how you have your old tyres under your bed!!

Have a happy week.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-01 12:26 pm UTC (link)
It was a total scam with the pics, but they are out of my place and my life now, so in some ways it is good. But a total rip off for sure! It makes me mad if I think about it, so I try not to really.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]okuralove816
2009-02-01 10:58 am UTC (link)
That shop sounds worse than Book Off. LoL.

Hope your company re-contracts you. (.^_^)

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-01 12:27 pm UTC (link)
Speaking of, I need to go to Book Off to get rid of some old CDs and stuff..... I just hope they give me more than the unofficial store did. I wasn't expecting much from the store, but I thought AT LEAST 50 yen, hopefully 100. But 10! And nothing for the 7 albums..... grrrrrr.

How is your job stuff going? So far behind on LJ......

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[info]okuralove816
2009-02-03 03:07 pm UTC (link)
It's going well! I'll be staying for another year teaching itty-bitty elementary school kids.

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[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-03 10:21 pm UTC (link)
Congrats on getting that job then! I know you were excited about it, so I hope it goes OK.

Do you know when your city will start the Eigo Note?

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[info]okuralove816
2009-02-07 10:28 am UTC (link)
Thank you! (*^_^*) 頑張ろう. p(.^_^.)q

Never, I hope. The city I'm currently at gave me the samples of the Eigo Note so I tried it a few times and well, it makes a nice supplement but... The kids don't like it either and it kind of contradicts everything they say we should be doing in elementary school with all of those writing activities. Hypocrites. Again, the CD is a good supplement so they can hear other voices, other than that... Wait, that doesn't answer your question. I think all of the elementary schools begin using it for the 5/6 grades in 2010.

Do you use it?

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[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-07 11:33 am UTC (link)
My city is going to start using it next year so they can test run for 2 years before it goes nation-wide. This year they had all of the ALTs visit the 5th and 6th graders for 15 times, just like under the new Eigo Note program (or whatever the whole thing is called). I haven't seen the text book or the CD, but I have seen the plan. I don't understand a lot of it and how it will fit in with everything really. Not that my lessons always fit in with each other, but with these it feels like so much over-lap with stuff they will learn in junior high anyway.

It bothers me less though than when the principals or whatever at the elementary schools would ask me why I wasn't teaching harder stuff to the kids, stuff they might use (like directions, etc.,). I would always have to tell them that even most junior high kids couldn't handle that stuff, so I always left it out. Not to mention a lot of the students can barely do the things I plan (but that is another story).

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[info]okuralove816
2009-02-07 12:00 pm UTC (link)
Directions? If some strange adult came up to a 5th grader asking for directions I would hope that the kid would have the common sense to scream, "Stranger!" and run away...

You're right about Jr.High students having trouble with the directions. I kind of blame it on the textbook for overcomplicating something rather simple but yeah, whatever... I'm not motivated enough to change anything.

What do you usually plan for lessons?

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[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-07 12:20 pm UTC (link)
For elementary, since I only taught 5th and 6th grade, I didn't have to make it too easy. I didn't do writing (except for this past romaji lesson). Usually I picked some vocab theme (school subjects, days of the week, etc.,) and then had a game to practice the vocab. Occasionally I taught some grammar, something easy like "I like" or "I have." Some of the teachers wanted me to use less Japanese, making it hard for me to teach any grammar since the kids didn't get it (nor would they understand the instructions for a game either half the time).

I don't have my yearly plan with me, but if you want I can send it to you later. It's nothing fancy though.

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[info]okuralove816
2009-02-09 10:27 am UTC (link)
Yeah! I always like to see what fellow co-workers do for their lessons. My plans really are kinda terrible hit-or-misses... (>_<)

I've never used Japanese during my classes (which is probably why they're chaotic) but I was wondering, when and how do you use it?

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[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-09 10:49 am UTC (link)
I'll E-mail you the general over-view of my lessons tomorrow or Wednesday (yay holiday!). I have the vocab, target phrase and idea for the game in it. I type my plans in Japanese to give to the teachers so they aren't lost. Takes forever.

When I use Japanese it's to explain the game usually. I explain in English as best as I can first, then if they don't understand at all, I explain in Japanese, but make them fill in the gaps. Sometimes if there is some grammar (which isn't often), I make the kids translate things back to me. I try to do that more than speak in Japanese, so I can see if the kids understand, and to make them think. Sometimes it goes OK, sometimes it doesn't.

When I do special lessons, like for Halloween, I explained a little about Halloween in Japanese to move things along (since that wasn't the main part). I did most of the romaji lesson in Japanese to show them how kunrei-shiki and the Hepburn version are different. I figured it would be faster and then give them more time to practice writing it, rather than trying to figure out what I was explaining as to why it is used, the differences, how to write things, etc., I have to pretty much only use Japanese with a few classes because the kids are such shits and refuse to do anything. I also have a lot of homeroom teachers who either don't pay attention to leave the room, thus forcing me to control (or not) the class, explain things, teach, etc., At one school (the only elementary I will be at next year, if I can stay at my current junior high), I could probably do only English lessons, if I planned easier games and the teachers were there to help. I do demos of the games, but sometimes the teachers aren't there and I have to get kids to volunteer or act it out myself.

.... that was longer than I thought it would be. Sorry!

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[info]elyndys
2009-02-01 01:52 pm UTC (link)
Glad you enjoyed the book! :D I'm afraid I'm still reading the pirate one! I used to read it on the train to work and now I don't have to do that any more I don't read as much! ^^'

I also LOL'd at the tyres under the bed. XD

Incidentally I've been playing Bejeweled (and Bejeweled 2!) recently and for some reason thought you might enjoy it! ^_~ It's good for wasting a bit of time, haha, and strangely addictive...

Glad you're keeping warm and avoiding the flu! Hope that continues! :)

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[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-01 10:14 pm UTC (link)
The one you gave me was easier to read than the pirate one, I think. There are more breaks so even though there are more pages it feels shorter. The one I am reading now doesn't have as many breaks so I don't want to read it at night and get stuck in the middle of a 20-page chapter or whatever. It's dense but good.

I play solitaire a lot now. I shouldn't play it as much though until I finish the hoodie but.... addicting!!

I hope you are staying warm and not getting sick too. I don't know if the flu is going around over there or not, but, stay healthy!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]zaq_in_chill
2009-02-01 03:45 pm UTC (link)
Missed reading your entries and the stories about your students... Glad to see you posted...

Nice! You have discovered the joy of sewing ^____________^... isn't it somewhat relaxing to do? It's one of the things that I catch myself enjoying to do. I just wish I have more free time to do it.

Hope you can get re-contracted.

Have a blessed 2009!


(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-01 10:16 pm UTC (link)
I actually don't like sewing too much, but I have been doing it a lot more lately. I think I don't like it because I don't think I am good at it! lol I only do little bits at a time so I don't feel pressured to rush or sit and do it all at once. I try to watch something while I sew too so it doesn't feel like so much of a chore. lol

I Hope that things are going well for you thus far in 2009!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]snow_meow
2009-02-01 03:59 pm UTC (link)
Wow, I didn't realise you would get only 10 yen per pic for all those stuff which you sold to the unofficial shop.
And to think of the hassle you had to go through to collect all those things.

I would have thought they would have return the photo album to you.

I guess this marks that you are out of fandom.

I do hope that this year will be a good year for you.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-01 10:20 pm UTC (link)
The unofficial shop is a rip off, and it will probably always make me angry (all the money - GONE), but there is really nothing I can do about it at this point. I didn't need the albums so it doesn't bother me that they didn't return them, but the fact that they didn't even compensate me for them is a bit ridiculous. There is more to it than that, but I Really don't feel like going in to it. It just makes me more upset.

I hope 2009 will be good for you too!

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[info]divid_chan
2009-02-01 04:32 pm UTC (link)
Wow... They sure ripped you off with the photos. I mean 10 Yen?? D: What can I say... JE sure knows how to run a business...

Why don't you DL dramas from D-addicts? They're not split into parts or anything.

I miss reading. I blame it all on my studies. XD After I'm done reading all the stuff I have to read every day for uni I sure as hell don't want to spend more time with books. La sigh...

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[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-01 10:18 pm UTC (link)
I have a hard time downloading with bittorrent, which is why I can't download from D-addicts. Sometimes I can get stuff with bittorrent, but sometimes I can't and it takes one month just to get one episode. My internet is through my apartment and they have a firewall set up, so I can't get around it.

I knew the unofficial stores were a rip off, I just didn't know how bad.

I didn't read as much when I was in uni. Well, let me rephrase that - I didn't read as much for FUN when I was in uni. I know what you mean. You read so much for your studies that reading for pleasure seems like more of the same.

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[info]kenaressa
2009-02-01 08:55 pm UTC (link)
Gonna post pictures of this project when you're done?

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[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-01 10:20 pm UTC (link)
Maybe. lol

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[info]weesachan
2009-02-01 11:54 pm UTC (link)
Tires under your bed.....hahaha

You should try watching Meichan no Hitsuji. (No Johnny's in it) The premise is a high class girl's school and each girl gets her own butler. It is total crack, but pretty amusing!

My friend said that VOICE is pretty good.

As for American Dramasa, I have recentlty had a Ghost Whisperer marathon. I really like that show. Have you tried watching Heroes?

I have a bunch of CDs I want to get rid of too. THere is a Book Off over here, but I am almost afraid to see how much they would pay for CDS....

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-02 09:27 am UTC (link)
I'll look for Meichan no Hitsuji and VOICE once I finish catching up on the Daily Show. lol I keep up with Heroes - although the 3rd season was blah. I keep meaning to watch 24 but never get around to it. lol

You haven't seen my bed, but there is a HUGE closet under it, my bed is a bit like a bunk bed kinda. Think of it like that. lol

I wonder if Book Off would give a better percentage than the evil store. I would hope so at least!!!!! Rip off!!!

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[info]koi_no_angel
2009-02-02 02:10 am UTC (link)
I'm glad you're better now! Gah...food poisoning sucks u_u.

I have my old tires (under my bed).
I don't know why, but this amused me more than it probably should have.

I don't even download dramas anymore. If it's not on youtube, crunchyroll, tv-links, or mysoju, I just give up trying to watch it =P.

I understand the temptation to return to fandom (and I wasn't nearly as active as you were!), but I can't bring myself to actually care about this kind of stuff anymore. Cute guys are nice, but I don't actually want to buy their shit XD.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-02 09:29 am UTC (link)
Everyone seems to be amused by the tires. I have old boxes, my suitcases and my vacuum under there as well. I have a BUNCH of space, so why not use it?

I watch a lot of stuff on youtube, tv-links, etc., now because it is so much easier (and usually faster) than downloading!

I think I still consider myself a fan, I just am not in the fandom. It's more like how I was back home with American groups and shows - I watch/listen, but don't really talk about it or share stuff on-line. It's a lot less stressful!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]pixisity
2009-02-02 09:40 am UTC (link)
I'm on hiatus for the moment but it's nice to see you posting again. *hugs* I'm with everyone on the photos; what a total rip off. :( But I guess that's what you gotta do to get rid of 'em.

I hope you're feeling better now and that things are looking up. Best of luck with re-contracting. I hope they will let you do it. <333333

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-03 10:11 am UTC (link)
Sorry to hear you are on hiatus, but I hope that you are taking it easy and resting up at least!

Right now things are looking up, except for my expenses. I've had a bit of an expensive few months....

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[info]gummykid
2009-02-03 03:17 am UTC (link)
I used to work in a memorabilia shop so I can testify that a low resale value like that is pretty much the norm, unfortunately. If you ever have more crap to get rid of, a flea market might be the way to go - you can get a bit more for your goods without the middle man and it can be a fun way to sell, too, since you can chat and listen to music etc while you sell. Plus you can get rid of a lot in one day and not have to deal with contacts and mailing, etc like you would with auctions.

Kudos on avoiding the flu - it finally caught up with me this weekend . ;_;

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-03 10:12 am UTC (link)
I don't know if/where there are flea markets here or else I would have tried it out. That's the hard part, my language ability is low and Japanese people don't always like used goods. I could have tried to wait for a concert and sat outside with my stuff (I have seen girls do it for K8 in Osaka Jo Hall), but I didn't want to wait anymore. I don't even know if those girls sell their stuff in the end.

Sorry to hear about the flu! How are you feeling now?

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[info]gummykid
2009-02-03 09:55 pm UTC (link)
I thought of flea markets bcs a friend of mine used to pick me up really cheap stuff from street sellers when he lived in Tokyo. I figured that most cities would have an area like that but maybe not.

I feel better, thanks! Took an extra day off to just hang out at home and recover. Going a bit stir crazy from missing two days of workouts. (I think it's getting a bit obsessive when I feel like keeling over but am still contemplating getting out the weights. lol)

BTW I was at the shop that had the nice gold dust/black nail polish and they still have it in stock - do you want me to pick up a bottle for you? It's cheap, $5.

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[info]marcasitevah
2009-02-03 10:24 pm UTC (link)
Thanks for the offer of the nail polish, but I think I found the same brand in Osaka. I haven't bought it yet because I am waiting to hear if I can re-contract. I would hate to buy a bunch of stuff only to have to move in 2 months.

I'm glad you are feeling better, and congrats on working out! I always start and stop so it is never anything regular.

I'm sure that there are flea markets, I just don't know where they are, and how easy it would be to set something up one day. It doesn't matter much now because I don't have many things left. Thanks for the info though!

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[info]chaos_diamond
2009-02-14 01:12 pm UTC (link)
you are finally back! i thought what happened to you for 2 months! glad to have you back! welcome back!

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