Looks like I'm late in posting again.

( My life as of late )

If I feel up to it I may post some pics later on this week.

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.

( the list )

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.

Today I went to Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine in Kyoto, finally. It was nice, and afterwards I had curry for dinner (and strawberry cake), plus I did a little shopping. Oh, and I fell in love with this cute cat at the shrine. It only meowed when I was there but it was scared of me. I wish I hadn't eaten all of my food at lunch because I would have given some of it to the cat. :( On the way home I sat by this really nice grandma who talked to me the entire time and was so happy that she could talk to me. She was so sweet and even though I didn't understand all that she was telling me (she was talking a lot about Japanese grammar), it was nice.

( around 15 pics )

This post is really random.

I watched all 30 seconds of K8 on Tokuban. That was short. It was like “Hi, we’re K8, oh look, something funny, the end.” The performance was great though. Yoko is just so adorable. I won’t say more so as to avoid spoilers.

I got a car navigation system installed today as my farewell present from my boss.

Also - for those who don't know - I'm moving! yay!! I got a new job. Anyway, I'm leaving my current place on Sunday (the 30th) and heading to training. I will have internet at the hotel for training (March 31-April 3). Once I move into my new place I may totally be without internet for a few days. Maybe longer. I have no idea to be honest (I don't even know where I will be living! haha). In any case, I have stuff planned to make it through a possible no internet period.

My place looks weird because I’m half packed to move. There are no clothes hanging in my room. My book shelf is half empty.

I wish my car was bigger so I could move more stuff.

Some of the K8 guys didn't update their JWebs today.

OK, enough random.

I realize that I have been whining a lot so I wanted to make a list of things that made me happy lately.

1. I managed to back into a parking spot on Sunday. I’ve never done it and I did it on the first try!
2. I found some good books to send home as birthday presents.
3. I bought some books to give to people when I move.
4. I heard some hilarious stories from Annie yesterday while we ate yummy curry.
5. I had strawberry yumminess on Friday.
6. I am making more and more progress on cleaning and sorting. It’s not a lot that people can se but I am making progress.
7. It is slowly getting warmer outside.
8. I got a farewell present already. One of my students gave me a really nice obi. I was shocked and delighted and shocked.
9. I bought a set of kanji study cards finally.
10. I got some orange cookies from Kagoshima as omiyage from a student last Wednesday. They’re really good.
11. One of my students brought me kudzu tea to try. I was very hesitant at first, but it wasn’t bad. Georgia totally needs to start exporting that stuff.
12. I mailed some things to some friends yesterday.
13. I know what I am going to teach the little kids. Let’s just hope that it works....

( new job )


In other news my friends and I applied for the Yoko cons in Tokyo. They added shows, which is good. The restrictions for getting a ticket were crazy. Basically, each membership could only apply for one ticket. If you want to try for 2 tickets you had to have 2 different memberships. Of the 9 memberships we tried with, 6 missed, 2 we haven’t heard yet and 1 hit.

It’s just nuts because they added shows and made it so that you could only get a ticket if you have a membership. Apparently they say they are going to be strict and check all tickets. And even if you have a letter you can’t get in. I personally think that is bull because there is no way that they are going to check more than 5000 tickets.

It snowed yesterday up here. But today it is warmer so the snow is melting. And by melting I mean sliding off my roof. It sounds kinda scary. I woke up this morning and was like "WTF IS GOING ON?!"

In other news there was a fire somewhere near my house Friday night. I think. Near when I was going to go to bed I started to smell smoke. I thought it was my AC/heater because the thing likes to randomly stop working and it had just stopped. But there was no smoke and no flmaes, so I walked around my house and saw nothing. I just kinda sat there wondering what was going on, and then the next thing I knew there were sirens going off like crazy and driving around. I don't know where the fire was because I'm too lazy to go look, but it had to have been close because of all of the sounds and the smell of smoke. It started at like 12:30-1, and the last trucks didn't leave until long after 2:30. I stayed up waiting just in case something happened.

( snow pics )

I made shirts with my friends today!

( yay shirts )

Mine is the black one (haha surprise). The "white fox" is the back and the other side is the front.

I was just at the conbini like always (my boss and I go to the same one every weekday and have for the past year and a half). Anyway this woman was cleaning the floor and started to move to where I was standing. We both said "sumimasen" but then she looked up and went "oh! so sorry! I'm sorry!" Then she told me to have a nice day so I said "You too." She laughed and said "oh me too!" As she looked up she saw her young, baby-faced co-worker who was ringing up my stuff. "He is crazy!" Ilaughed and he got embarassed. She went behind the counter, asked me if I knew Japanese, and said "He is crazy! I am crazy!" I just laughed and the poor guy kinda laughed but mostly looked shy/embarassed.

Apparently I am a hero. hahahaha I needed that after my week. Here are is a bag I got for Christmas plus my strawberry tart from last night and some curry. Yes I am random.

( food )

( new bag - take 1 )

Two posts in one day - magic! Or well, I am taking care of business.

Anyway - I had these pants that I LOVE but they had some holes and stuff because they are all old and comfy. I finally decided to try and repair them, and then added some flair.

So - the front has three small yellow shooting stars at the top. There are two red hearts on the right leg and the left leg has a crescent of stars. The back: left side has SB with jewels and silver paint, the right has two hearts entertwined with a heart and some jewels above/below it.

Problem is - one of the small hearts fell off after I superglued it on (after the iron-on didn't work). It's on the back pocket. So, I need to think of something to put there and just haven't come up with anything yet.

( pictures )


Next up - finish my shirt design.

My kids are weird...

In addition to the usual "you don't live in America now?!" comments I get frequently, this week I got "why is your face white?" at one school. And at another, the kids told me I sounded like a real American.

I..... what?

I have been meaning to post my schedule since I got here ages ago. Anyway for those curious, here is my weekly schedule.


( schedule here )



I never work on the weekends. I get all national holidays off plus one week in August and two at Christmas/New Years. My schedule is slightly reduced in August and April but not by much (maybe one hour per day less in August and two or so in April). Getting days off is hard if not impossible. I am the only teacher so....


As you can see I teach quite a few lessons each week. And while some are short (only 20 minutes), I still have to plan for each lesson. Some days I can teach the same thing to every level, some days I can’t. Also, each class is different, so that makes it harder. All of my planning and preparation has to be done before I leave for work as I do not have time or a place to do anything like that the schools. I only have short breaks (if anything) when I am at the schools, and most of the time those breaks are filled with kids still in the classroom.

If you add in travel time and time spent with my boss, I am at work for about 40 hours a week teaching almost 40 lessons a week.

Since I have no been in Japan for 1 year and 1 day, I thought I should list some of the highlights of my time here. Nothing too detailed, more of a simple list of some of the craziness I have experienced. And nothing work-related. Keep in mind that this is just some of the insanity, not all by any means.

( A year in review )

I just got my new computer. Out of the box. And the CD/DVD drive is broken. FUCK.

I either have to take it to somewhere in Chiba, have Lisa take it home and ship it to me, or buy a replacement part here and have someone here replace it.

Anyway you look at it, arg. I guess I will get my boss to take me back to the computer center thing at the electronics store so I can see what they can do. Until then - no burning of CDs/DVDs. I *think* I can still play things, but ehhhhh.


I need more icons.

This week has been crazy but fun. Most of my classes are really easy since I am letting the kids color and do activities. And next week all of the kids will get time to play this fishing game, so I only have to teach part of some of the lessons. And those that I do teach will all be Christmas related things - like a maze and coloring or whatever.

To make it better - I got two packages today!!!!! My dad and his family sent me a bunch of stuff (books, socks, picture holders, Mac 'n cheese, hot chocolate, apple cider, taco mix, etc.,) and a card with some old pictures of me! Then - like an hour later - I got my amazon order with the new KinKi CD and my copy of Kanfuu Fighting!!!!!

TODAY IS A GOOD DAY!


Now if only my server would sort itself out. I upgraded my webspace but it doesn't seem to register that I did, even though I paid. Hopefully it will be OK soon - if not, I may have to E-mail the people. I should not be getting a server is full message when I am using only 10 of the 300 gigs I paid for! Let's just hope that they haven't set it up right yet since I just paid the other day.


OK - now to get ready to teach! Crap - what am I going to teach?!

If you want to read all about my time in Japan - I am going to keep an updated journal of just that stuff at this journal: rebeccajapan. Feel free to friend me. I have entries for every day except today - which I will post later.

On Saturday, Pam and Mindy came over. We made uchiwas for the concert, and did lots of other stuff. Then, we went to an electronics store to buy me a cord so I could watch TV. I was all excited. Stuff comes on Sunday night! So, last night I was prepared to watch Tetsuwan Dash, Utawara and Domoto Kyoudai. Sadly, they were showing baseball instead of Tetsuwan Dash and Utawara. I figured I could still catch Domoto Kyoudai. Nope, they showed F1. Pam also found out that Honjani doesn't air in my prefecture. That's OK though because it is like 2-3 weeks behind for her so I can just download it faster.

I just wanted to say that yes - I am alive. Yes - I am in Japan. Yes - I like it so far. I've been very busy with settling in and starting work. My predessor left today (Thursday) so this has really been my first chance to stop and update LJ. I have lots to say, but I will wait and make a long post later or something. I want to start a separate blog for my life in Japan, but I will do that later.

So I graduated again. That should be my last graduation, unless I get dumb and want another degree. Which isn't likely.

Anyway, if you want to read my thesis, you can get it here (It's a pdf file - might be best to right click and save as)

So yeah....

I got R from renchan5

This is how it works: Comment on this entry and I will give you a letter. Write ten words beginning with that letter in your journal, including an explanation of what the word means to you and why, and then pass out letters to those who want to play along.

1. Rebecca - yeah, my name. What? I used to hate my name. But I don't anymore. I kinda like it. Even though because of my E-mail address people spell it Rebeccah. Anyway, funny story about my name. When I was a freshman in high school, the first English I had I didn't really know anyone in (big surprise!). So I was sitting there and I heard someone say Rebecca. I turned around and it was this girl. She looked at me and asked if my name was Rebecca. I said yes. She said she was talking about this book she had read called Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and that her name was Daphne. We became friends. How sweet.

2. Rosso E Azzuro - Domoto Tsuyoshi's first solo album/DVD. I don't like all of the songs on there, and I think that [si] is a better album overall, but Dekiai Logic freakin' rocks. And the DVD is too cool. I mean, he freakin' smokes during the con. And he is so rock. Plus, the DVD has Momo which is way too awesome and random.

3. Reading - I like to read. I love to read. School (especially grad school) has tried to destroy my desire to do so.

4. Ryo (Nishikido Ryo) - I hate him. OK, not really. He isn't as bad as I used to think he was. his smile is kinda cute. OK - I do hate him.

5. Run Lola Run - It's a pretty cool movie. I watched it like a jillion times my senior year of high school and my freshman year at college/uni. Hell, I saw it in the movie theater.

6. Rashamon - YES! This movie fucks with your head. Plus we talked about it in one of my stupid grad courses. Mifune is freakin' awesome.

7. Rainbow Bright - I used to love this show. Apparently they came out with a cereal and I made my mom buy it but I didn't eat it. I don't remember that. I do remember buying a shirt with Rainbow Bright on it before I started college/uni. I wore it to the Japan Fest we did that year, and I totally owned in that color game. We had to put our finger on something that was the same color that Tim-sensei (that guy who had the Irasshai TV Show on GPTV). Haha my shirt had like every color. It was awesome.

8. Red - I used to want a red car. I don't hate the color red but it isn't my favorite. I like red sauce better on pasta.

9. Red Dwarf - I used to love watching this show. GPTV showed them out of order though, so it would jump around a lot. But still - I always got a good laugh from it.

10. Rambling - I ramble. A lot. Like in this meme thing.

I am going to have 31 days of fun-filled insanity.
May 2-3: give a final and grade them. Fuck. That's not fun, so it doesn't count.

May 6: Graduate, give mom big furnitre
May 8: go back to Atlanta
May 9-17: visit people, drive around and waste gas
May 18: leave for Japan
May 19: arrive in Japan, ride a bus, try and sleep
May 21: Welcome dinner for me.
May 22: start work
May 25: (I think the 25th) take over completly as my predecessor leaves
May 27: Mindy and masako/ichigohime/Pam come to visit me
June 2: Turn 24
June 3/4: Kanjani8 concert

WTF I am going to die. I still have so much to do.

I got offered a job today. It looks like everything will be going OK with it. I'm trying not to get too overly excited at the moment just in case. Hence why this post is friends-only. OK - it looks official now!

Basically, the job is 250,000yen/month (2,128.65 USD currency converter). Standard pay. The bonus: "1 bedroom house, plus dining, kitchen, classroom. Rent free, pay utilities." It is a house. A house for free. By myself.

I don't have a visa, so more than likely I will get sent to Korea for 2 days to get my work visa once the paperwork is ready. Free trip to Korea!

Another benefit - the job is in Maebashi City, Gunma. I will be somewhat near Pam and Mindy (Pam says it is about a 2 hour train ride to them). Not incredibly far from Tokyo (3 hour regular train ride). My house is a 15-minute bike ride from the station.

Gunma Prefecture Website
Maebashi city website
More information about the city

The thing is - the job starts May 20. I would be leaving in less than a month. Needless to say I am totally freaking out. I feel like my heart is going to burst.


EDIT:
My house comes with a bed here, a couch, tv, vcr, dishes, toaster oven, and a microwave. I will have internet already set up. And maybe a bike.

I was going to post this after I finished, but I am not in the mood to write at the moment (time to take a bunch of pain medicine). I spent most of my break in the library or doing a little writing. I think I went every weekday over the break for at least two hours. I think the microfilm machine made my arm hurt too because of the stupid way you have to sit to browse through the stuff.

Intro - 6 pages (not done)
Chapter 1 - 26 pages (I've added 3 pages thus far, and need at least one more)
Chapter 2 - 16 pages (edited by advisor, I need to fix and add stuff)
Chapter 3 - 22 pages (edited by advisor, I need to fix and add stuff)
Chapter 4 - 10 pages (not done)
Epilogue - 5 pages (not done)
Bibliography - only partially done, not included in page count

Total page count: 85

Just a reminder: a master's level thesis is usually 100-120 pages. Typed, double spaced, with 1.5 inch margin on the left side and 1 inch everywhere else.

My goal is to be done with most of chapter 4 by Monday/Tuesday so I can turn it in for editing. I need to have a decent version to give the rest of my committee on the 27th/28th, and then have my defense the first week in April. Plus, I have to submit a copy for format check.

My JET interview went OK. I was the last person to go (for my group, there were 3 different interview groups), and the person before me was late. So if nothing else, I had to have done better than him! I also didn't stutter or say um and uh a lot.

They asked me about my thesis, so I rambled about that. And history in general. Sadly, I only got to mention JE in passing. I think I impressed all of them at some points, but the Japanese guy didn't seem as impressed with everything I said. The former JET seemed to like some of my answers, and the person who worked with the consulate seemed to like a lot of what I said.

They had me to a self-introduction in English, and pretend that they were all 12-13 and knew amybe 20 English words. They said I could stand and use the board and stuff. I just stayed in my chair and said my name, and that I was American and a few hobbies. I don't think I impressed them with that, but it's OK.

The first thing they asked me about what why they should hire me. The guy asked me about historical perspective, and what I had to say about the recent Muslim protests over the political cartoon. They asked me about my thesis, so I talked about the topic. And then, the Japanese guy asked me about the differences in ads between Japanese manufacturers and also between the Japanese & US. They asked me about Italy and culture shock. They asked me about this project I worked on a few years ago. And then, what problems the Japanese are facing, in business and otherwise. I kinda flubbed that, because uh, what? I mentioned US protectionism, but I couldn't think of anything else. Not my fault I am working on my thesis.

The Japanese man asked what I would do if I was invited to go to karaoke and drink beer. After I talked about how I have never been and would like to go he asked if I liked to sing. I told them that I sang in my car all the time, and they laughed. They also asked what club or activity I would join to help after school. And then, someone (the Japanese man I think) asked what differences there are between the US and Japanese school systems.