Days go by...

I was just thinking of that song...I think it`s from Family Matters or something. Anyway, I know I have let some time go by since the last blog, but work has kept me busy...that and the heavy drinking. HA just kidding, it`s too expensive to go out much. Beer here runs about 500 yen in a bar. Unless of course you find yourself in an Izakaya, in which the beer is 280 yen. Very happy drink time! Yes, these bars are very happy because the beer is big yet cheap.

All drinking aside, I have come to realize that there just isn`t that much to do in Shoji, where I live. And if I want to hang out in Namba (the city center of Osaka) I have to make the subway by 11:45 PM or it`s a long walk home. So my friend Josh and I are trying to find a new place to live that is closer to the fun. Another factor in this decision is the absolutely ridiculous amount of rent that my employer is charging me to live on the outskirts of town. I actually save money by moving closer to the city...isn`t that weirrrrrrd??

It would be nice to walk to work too, I like walking. And the bike scene is huge, of course. You can`t really go anywhere without maneuvering around the sidewalk for crazy bicycle girls trying to e-mail their chicas on their cell phones while trying to navigate the narrow path that is supposedly marked for pedestrians! Ah well, their cute attractive innocence (?) makes up for it.

So far I have made a few friends at work. Some of them live out in Shoji and Kita-tatsumi (our neighbor to the south). One girl actually lives in my building. She is Scottish and has this amazing accent! She`s pretty good looking too. But then there`s this other girl that is friends with one of my co-worker. She`s really cute too and speaks English pretty well. I`m going to Kyoto with them on Monday for lunch before going to work (is there even enough time?? who knows?). I work at 3, so I was told that we can go to Kyoto, eat and come back in time to teach some Engrish.

Yeah so my schedule is not bad. 3-10:40 pm. Everyday. Except Tuesday and Wednesday, which is my new weekend (Saturday and Sunday, you are DEAD to me!!). After probation I will be able to do some shift swaps, which I hear are good to do. I really just want a pay increase, two months to go! It seems like such a long time, but I can dig it. I`m not planning to leave here anytime soon. The big city has already grown on me. And I can`t help but crack up at some of the character of this place...for example:

First of all, I have to talk about the J-dancers that hang out in the bottom of the OCAT building (where I work). It seems that this group of seemingly misguided teenage Japanese have it out to `bring it on` in some competition very much like that of the plot in `You got served.` They are quite a scene, and I have the sheer joy of walking past their dance practice everyday...yes, EVERY day. You just got served!! Keep on practicing...for whatever it is you are practicing for!

Then there are the clients at work. Every lesson is different, with different people, and usually a different booth to work at. What makes this job special are definitely the clients though. Now it`s easy to throw a giggle their way if they say something wrong in English, but what they don`t seem to realize is that, after the lesson is over, the instructor (that would be me) is still connected to the server and cannot disconnect until all students have left the lesson room. So today I had a three-way class with some mid level skill students. One of them, an older man, liked to talk about his money and his golf score. I think what he really wanted to `score,` however, was the one of the other student`s phone number. So after class was over, the young woman was talking to this dude...lucky for me I understand some Japanese. This man, who was clearly at least 25 years older than this girl, asked for her cell phone number, and then proceeded to tell her that he will give her a call some time!!! WTF??? Is this job a matchmaking service in disguise? It`s out of control! HAHA! Wow, it was a great moment though, because I just cracked up at that point and they had no clue I could see and hear them. Ah, such power is grand.

Anyway, that is the first really funny experience that I`ve had so far, but it`s only my third week so there is much more comedic gold out there to be had.

No pictures this time because the damn computer is not reading my picture CD. I do have some more Japan to share though, and will post as soon as I am able. As I said before, until I get into a new place, I won`t have permanent internet. So it`s going to be intermittent for a while. Well I think this is where I shall end the blog tonight. No engrish shirts have been spotted so far. But that is not to say I have not found engrish in other forms. There are a few pictures to share, but again, computer is retarded. I am finding a few things that I think I want to send to certain people (hehe). I will be sending stuff as soon as I figure out how to use the post office (Beth what lesson was that???). Cheerio for now everyone.