I need a JOB!!!!

Job searching has been going slow and stuff. I went to the JASK thing last night and made some contacts, but nothign has come out of my job hunting yet. I think i should just take that job down in Hopkinsville. It looks like i will probably need to move or commute a long way for a good job that will help pay for school. I keep feeling like i made the wrong decision to leave Japan, and wish i hadn't. All the important people in my life for the past few years are all thousands of miles away, and i miss them. 

not much going on for easter weekend. With everything closed, i had nothing to really do in terms of job searching. Today will be a little busier. i am going to call toyota and the fayette county school system to see if it would be possible for me to teach Japanese somewhere without having certification and getting it while i teach. Chiropractors appointment was changed to the afternoon, and then there is a Japanese speaking thing going down at the library this evening.

change of plans most likely

Well, if i am able to defer my schooling for one more year, i think that i will have to do that in order to get the funds to support my educational costs and those of living in London. I know that may break the hearts of some of those who were waiting for my in London, but i just can't go there on my earnings at the moment. If someone has an extra 25000 dollars lying around that would be great to get as a present.

I had a pretty good interview today with a Japanese Travel agency in town, so all pluses. I really want this job because it is close and i could use my Japanese and get paid sort of decently well. Went to the chiropractor and they said my spine is a little twisted to the right, so i guess that explains my back pain since august.

I think being here for another year might be the answer to most of my financial woes, and then i will try and get my JLPT certification so i can actual have some sort of piece of paper that says i can speak Japanese. but i guess i don't that much else to write about since i am living in the USA, i don't seem to have the much going on with me like i did when i was in Japan.

Well i have been home for about a week, and it has been okay. I have been offered a job after an interview, but it was 3 and half hours away, and i can't trust my car that i have to go that distance. It was 20 bucks an hour but oh well. I have to still look for other jobs. I have an interview for another just call job on Monday.
I have updated my pics from my London trip. It was very nice. Still America seems a little less exciting than traveling around the world, but at least i think my skin has improved a little with the weather. 

it has been a whole, but i am finally back home in Kentucky. The weather from last night is still going on and i couldn't really sleep because of it. I had my dogs sleeping with me for a little bit because they were scared from all the wind and rain. Japan will be missed, but London even more. I had a great week with a friend there and we did some good things together. There was the Tate Modern and Tate Britain, Kew Gardens, Kenwood House, Borough and Leadenhall Markets, and picnics and such. Very fun. The chocolate tour was amazing, but a little sickening at the end with all the sampling, and the Doctor Who experience was very interesting, though i was a little disappointed in the merchandise sold at the end. Not many practical things to buy. No to call people, get a phone sim card, and then get a job, and gt this school papers underway.

Ode to Japan

Well, the time has finally come for my departure from the land of the rising sun. The past year and a half have brought many changes and challenges to my life and i have grown for the better from them. I have gained some good friends, and met one person that i have been the closest as a friend more than anyone else in my life. I have had some physical struggles and physical changes came because of those. I have lost much of the weight that i always wanted to lose, but i guess it took being in Japan to finally get rid of it and see just what kind of crap i was putting into my body. My Japanese has improved somewhat i think. Not much more complex in speech patterns i think but fluency and general knowledge of daily life and how people speak and interact with each other. I wonder what i am going to do in both London and Kentucky in order to keep up with my Japanese and get a language fix. In a weird turn of events, before i came to Japan i used to watch animes and dramas and not much American TV. Well the later is still sort of true, i didn't watch any Japanese TV or animes while i was here save for one, but that one i kind of stopped after it just seemed to be another anime trying to be commercialized and selling products. That seems to be the case for many of the new anime that i see, so i will just have to deal. I do miss watching those deep emotional anime that i watched when i was in high-school.

     I have matured emotionally and mentally to a point where i believe that i am ready to take on the things that i want to accomplish in this life. I have a clearer perspective on my life and what i want out of it. No longer am i the sad child pondering on the desolation of this life and the next, but rather trying to make the most out of the singular and impossible life that i have. Tried dating a little, and still in the process. But best not to talk about my personal life, some people are still flinchy about it and i like to be a private person.

There are a few things that i will miss about Japan and my town in particular:
1. kyuushoku- school lunch
2. convenience stores- they truly are convenient with being able to pay bills, buy more food than just chips and soda, and buy tickets for museums and concerts and movies.
3. Japanese rice- it is so much better when you have the good stuff. my favorite condiment for it is Tabasco, but that's just me.
4. the many varieties of canned fish available for purchase- mackerel and saury are my favorites.
5. There is always a taste sensation some where be it a rice burger, octopus beaks, or whale.
6. the people are always very kind and willing to answer questions but it helps to speak the language.
7. The school band and the teacher for it- they were my girls and i really respect the teacher so much. One of the few teachers i would talk to on a regular basis.
8. Tofu- so many varieties and ways to cook it. fried tofu, silken, firm, inari-zushi, atsuage are all delicious varieties.
9. tax being included in the displayed price- if only there was a national VAT in America instead of each state deciding it and making it different. But even still, why do we not display the price with tax included? a marketing ploy to make it seem cheaper, no thank you.
10. Kibaco

Though there are some things that i miss
1.salads made with lettuce and not cabbage, though corn makes any salad better.
2.being able to understand everything said around me, i get 70% but still to understand all the documents i read would be nice again.
3. central heating and air
4. dryers that dry
5. cheaper music and dvd's and movie tickets. i will never pay 50-70 bucks for a dvd, and never 30-40 for a CD.

Sitting in a hotel in Sapporo now and woke up from a not so restful night. i seriously need a pillow between my arms or it is just ever so hard fro me to fall asleep. We all went out to Round One last night for our last hurrah together- though i think our lunch today will be the final finale. I am putting pics on my phone to keep it clear for London, and i am updating it as well. I hope that i will be able to use it somewhere else in the world, i guess i will have to go to Chinatown and see if i can get an "upgrade."

I can't believe that i have left the little town that i spent almost two years in. I had a great time and i learned a lot. I met some great people, but now i think that i will have an awesome time in London this next year.

I closed out all my accounts and even got 100 bucks from the mayor. Very formal even on the last day, though i was wearing just what i had because i only have one pair of nice clothes since all the others don't fit me anymore- yeah!!!!- and so i had to apologize for that. Now to spend the day here until i can go to the airport. I like traveling sometimes, but only if the airports are really interesting.