Pics from the Winter Vacaion

Hakuba (Nagano) and Tokyo

Hitchin a ride to Tokyo      

The bubble has burst

Hey Folks,

  Sorry to have been disconnected for so long.  I’ll still post pictures from Tokyo, etc. at some point.  This message is just to notify you of a new development.  This job isn’t a good one for me so I’ve decided to head home.  I’ll be back in time for Mom’s b-day and the super bowl.  Thanks to everyone for supporting me in this endeavor.  I must seek employment that better fits my interests and abilities.  Currently, the goal is a job as a clinical specialist with a medical device company.  I’m sorry to ruin the  vicarious living that may have been occurring, but I am confident in my decision.  It’s back to the search and I’m ready for it.  Thanks for watching.  I guess I’ve always had an itchy trigger finger.

Whoa…I’m Back

Hey All

I’m sorry that I haven’t posted in a while.  I was on vacation in Hakuba, Nagano for a few days and then to Tokyo for the new year and a few more days.  It was a fun vacation.  I’m bummed to have to go back to work.  Having fun and meeting people is much better than working.  I’ll put together a better synopsis of the vacation with some pictures and stuff in the near future.  Until then, I’m just back at it here in Okayama.  I had a tough time today on the first day  back at work.  Tomorrow is sure to be better.  Got a call from my good friend Ross tonight.  That was awesome.  I also got a package today that my mother/fambam sent out for the holidays.  It’s full of delicious things.  Peanut butter, tuna fish, miracle whip, pickle relish, cookies, and mixed nuts and dried fruits.  Those things may sound simple, but they’re not as easy to get here and I love them.  Perfect home-style snack food for me.  I’m off to bed for now… I’m going to get back to more frequent posts now that I’m back from vacation.  Keep an eye out for the special vacation entry as well!!  It’s going to be awesome.  Maybe.

Dec 25th and 26th

Mostly a blur, really.  Not much happened except for talking with the fambam as much as possible.  It was such a bummer to miss out on all of the fun and being with everyone.  That just goes with the territory, though.  The job wasn’t too hard this week…. and now it’s over for 10 days.  I get to have some real fun.  I hope it’s a mind-blowing experience.  I may be out of connection for the whole time.  If that’s the case, I’ll give updates upon my return.  Hopefully there will be a decent number of pictures to see. 

Please enjoy your celebrations for the new year.  It’s crazy that it’s already 2010.  It seems like yesterday that we were all making a big deal out of Y2K. 

Don’t worry Greater Japan, I’m on my way.

Dec. 24th

Slow day at work today.  I only had one scheduled lesson and that student didn’t show up.  I spent my time planning for all of my lessons for the whole week and then cleaning a bunch of things around the school.  Most of my cleaning time was spent taking the air filters out of all of the heating units in each of the rooms and cleaning them off.  It wasn’t so bad and it was better than having absolutely nothing to do.  After work I went to a dinner with the other native English teachers from my school at a place called “Matador.”  It was an ok dinner and way too expensive.   It was good to go out with some folks, though.  It doesn’t feel much like Christmas Eve here.  It just feels like a regular day.  I’m listening to MPR online and I’m hearing all about the weather at home.  I’m jealous.  I’d love some real winter weather for Christmas.  I’ll be thinking a lot about all of you tomorrow and the next day.  Merry Christmas!!!  I miss you.

Dec. 23rd

Today was mostly a blur.  I didn’t do all of the exploring that I wanted to do, but I did some reading about Tokyo that I’ve wanted to do.  I should be able to keep busy while I’m visiting there.  The list of things to do/see is large enough now.  Three days of work that won’t be too busy and then it’s off to vacation.  I also went to church tonight.  It was a Japanese service, so I didn’t understand much but I met a few new people.  There’s a guy from Malaysia (I think) who is studying chemical engineering who goes to the church and can speak English pretty well.  The next time I see him, I’ll have to see if he wants to hang out some time.  He is very outgoing and probably has a lot of friends.  He’d be a good guy to hang around with I think.  I’m attempting to make some french toast for breakfast tomorrow.  I hope it goes well.

December 22nd

Today was pretty relaxing at work because it’s a holiday week.  I don’t have very many classes to plan for or teach.  I also have tomorrow off because it’s the emperor’s birthday.  I just talked with my mom and Grenny (my grandmother) and my brother on Skype.  I got to see Koda (the dog) as well.  It was settling and a bit unsettling at the same time to see the same old corner of the basement with walnut-stained oak venire, white walls, and a picture of Robbie and me making funny faces in black and white.  I’m glad to be doing something new and different, but it feels more like drudgery right now and I’d love to be back with the people and places that I know and love.  I am going to do some exploring of Okayama tomorrow and I’ll be on a train headed to the Japanese alps for some skiing soon enough.  Enjoyment is on the horizon!