sighbarfcrap

The proficiency test is on Sunday, I have 3 free days at work due to testing and I cannot concentrate enough to study. It's like when you read the same sentence 75 times in a book you can't get into.

This is the kanji I have to memorize.

http://www.kanjisite.com/html/start/jlpt/4/all/index.html

Not hard at all if you've lived here for a year. But I can't be bothered to review them.

Someone give me some motivation, a beer, and a one way ticket down to Eaaaaaassssy Street where I'm gettin that duplex with Jayne.

Back to smoking heavily...or something.

Thanksgiving Day 2006

Pumpkin Overturn was pretty much a success. It wasn't the best thing I've ever made, but it was certainly the best thing I've ever made with gelatin. It was more like a pudding than pie, yet acceptable.



Thanksgiving Day for me started out at the Laundromat. Yes, I cleaned my clothes here. Next order of business is finding a place to do my wash that isn't condemned. Seriously, I think there was a cat living in one of the dryers.



I played drums for an hour, met up with my buddy Helen and we had a Thanksgiving dinner at the local foreigner hook up bar. The location sucks, but we enjoyed ourselves, talked about lots of things and watched hookers play pool over turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes. More soon about my fun weekend.

The Dumps, Down in

Why is it that every time you're feeling really terrible all the songs you hear go right along with your mood? Except at the foreign food store. They were playing Xanadu. And last time I was in there they were playing that song by Hot Chocolate about "You Sexy Thing." I gotta start hanging out there more often, and not just for the wholesale salsa at low, low prices.

Incidentally, Kyle I found you on Aisle 2.



Ugh. Well, I did manage to get a free t.v. today, so that was good I guess. Let's be honest, the best part of my day was a chocolate mochi I ate. And it wasn't even that tasty. I should have gone with the soda flavored gum.

If you need me I'll be trying to make a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie with no oven and no crust. I shall call it, "Pumpkin Overturn."

Should we be concerned about this? Click here.

Sweet T.V.

If there's one thing I've learned in Japan it is never underestimate the value of a television series. We are currently in the middle of watching Twin Peaks. I think there's only about 7 or so episodes left. My favorite character this week is Denise. If you'd have told me when we started the series a month ago that I'd be seeing David Duchovny in drag I probably would have laughed at you and said, "Oh you, what do you know?"


I like it a lot, but some of the subplots are getting kind of lame like the one with the adopted boy being accused of killing his parents. Maybe there will be some significance to that later. I would explain more, but you can't talk about the show without ruining it for other people, so to save you all I will change the subject

Things sure are picking up at work. I am currently coloring vegetable pictures and researching the best recipes for pumpkin Creme Brulée. After class I will show my most eager students the rest of The Ring. Don't ever try to scare Japanese kids. It doesn't work. They all told me they think the movie isn't scary whatsoever. !!!! We have better insulation and toothpaste, but I guess America just can't compete with the Japanese horror movie.

Friday night was a huge disappointment. I went out to a drinking party with my teachers and spent two awkward hours trying not to drink myself to the point of oozing under the table. Now I'm at a point where I feel confident enough to communicate fairly well in Japanese, but none of the English teachers showed up, so everyone was afraid to talk to me without the possible aid of a translator. Nobody even took the conversation bait when I asked questions about what we were eating, as if I have no idea what f**king pudding is. In fact, the only thing that saved the evening was the pudding. I've been to parties like that knowing about 10 words of Japanese and had a blast. I digress, maybe I should have tried harder....next time I'm putting my feet in the nabe pot and eatin with my toes. Screw it, if you can't join 'em, make 'em uncomfortable.

Thankfully, the rest of the weekend was pretty great. Saturday we went to Seto outside of Nagoya, a city know for it's delightful pottery. It was cold and rainy, but the town was cool and worth going back. Saturday's dinner was at a real Spanish restaurant with some new friend's of ours. Sunday was a company picnic that was really fun. Later we ordered pizza for dinner while watching Audition. I don't know in what context that movie and eating go together, but we gave it a shot. Right now I'm gluing paper fruits onto paper for tomorrow's lesson about........fruits. I want to get a puppet, too.

I'd type more, but every time I try to focus there's a little clear thing that floats in front of my eyeball. It's like I'm looking into a microscope with those shaky things in the lake water.

In summation I need:

* More trips outside the city
* More iron in my diet
* Less gore during pizza time

Home again

Well readers, I'm coming home for Christmas. I'll be there starting December 17th. If you wanna hang, lemme know. I plan on doing lots of relaxing, eating Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and little else. So fire up the yule log, and don't make me get jolly on your naughty asses.

Hmm, what's new.

I was in a Foreign Artist Exhibition last week that was fairly interesting. Met some cool people anyways. One guy even put in his fake nail art. Sparkly.






Saturday night I went to The Nagoya University of Art festival at which I saw a badass band covering Black Sabbath with two of the shittiest singers I've ever heard. It was fun though, and they had cheap food.



The only thing keeping me sane at school right now are these girls. Every Thursday we hang out and watch English movies and talk about American holidays and eat candy. Here they are making Halloween cards.




I will be consulting the Colonel for possible job options.



New Hobby Alert: I started taking some drum lessons, just to get the basics down. I suck bad so far, but my teacher has white hair and Hammer pants, and I'm in a class with 4 High School girls.

Weekend........and more

Last weekend we went camping with some of Will's friends. Camping really isn't the right word for it. Really I'd call it livin' it up like Snoop Dog's crew sipping Hennessy on a golf course. No seriously, look!





It was fun, there were lots of families with cute kiddies and we played bingo.

You cannot be in the proximity of a 6 year-old girl for more than 10 minutes without getting covered in stickers.



So you all know that Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and this year it was celebrated in style. Will took the title of Halloween King with the best costume at the party we went to. I think if you look at the pictures you'll agree.