Today I said to myself, "Self, I do not feel like swimming. So instead of doing yoga and then swimming, I will do yoga and then weights." Feeling satisfied with my decision, I hied off to the gym, where I discovered that I'd only brought one shoe. Huh. While it is normal to do yoga barefoot, the staff generally frown on people using the machines without proper footwear. So I just did yoga, wondering to myself if I had shoe-stealing gremlins in the house, or if my subconscious just wants me to be flabby.

Turns out my subconscious is psychic and didn't want me to go to the gym at all. Why? Ok, try to follow me here.

The mail is delivered around 11 o'clock. I left the house around 11:15, and there was no mail yet, so it seems likely that I missed the mail by only a few minutes. Now, had I NOT gone to the gym, I would have been at home when it was delivered. Had I been at home, I would have received the notification that my visa is ready in time to run downtown and get that taken care of. Was I at home? No. Did I receive the postcard in time? No. Do I have time this week AT ALL to go downtown and get my visa and then try to work things out with the alien registration card people (mine expired last week, because guess what you can't renew without a valid visa?)? That would be a big, fat, no.

I have until the 14th to go get it, so it's not like it's an emergency, but I would just feel so much better having everything sorted out.

Glargh.

Oh, and in other news, Halloween is going good and my parents seem to be having a good time. More on that later.

Imaginary pumpkin carving! How great. Now I too can carve a pumpkin or 600 for Halloween, without having to shell out $10 for one. AND there's little chance of me lopping off a digit!

Halloween parties start tomorrow. Miho and I are all set. I made up some ping pong balls to look like eyeballs, and we sorted all the candy we will need for tomorrow's classes. My wings are looking good, and my antennae are...oh, wait. I knew I was forgetting something. Well, they are mostly done. I bought a headband and some black pipe...um...cleaners? I just totally blanked on the term for those things. Anyhow. I wrapped the...black fuzzy bendy things...around some toothpicks for extra stability and attached them to the headband. Now I just need to ball up some foil, wrap it in black fabric (I bought knickers from the 100 yen store for the express purpose of cutting them up and wrapping the rags around foil) and voila! I am set! I even have my Halloween manicure all done up. (Dark grey polish with Halloween nail decals stuck on. I'm currently debating on whether or not I should add a layer of sparkle.)

My parents are currently on their way to the Prince George airport on the first leg of their trip over here. Whee! (That's a non-sarcastic "whee!", just in case you were wondering about that.)

I have a Halloween costume! Or most of one, anyway. I had to rig up a homemade protractor using two cooking chopsticks, a small pencil, and two ponytail elastics...but it worked well enough. And now I have ladybug wings!


Of course, I don't know yet if they are functional, so....no, I don't mean "functional" in the sense of "will they fly?". Geez. I mean I haven't yet attempted to make straps to hook them on, and I don't know how they'll fit. I think that will be a two person job, so I will have to bring them to school and ask Miho or Masami to help. Also, the base is this very lightweight sort of plasticy-cardboard stuff that tends to snap quite easily, so if any kids get too curious about the wings, they may break in two. Here's hoping they'll last the full five days.

Now I just need to work an the antennae...you'd think that would be the easiest part, but you would be mistaken.

D'oh. I hung about after work, chatting with Andrew and his next class, which was all very nice, but resulted in me missing a parcel delivery by five minutes. So now I have to wait until tomorrow to go get it. And it's the one from Doug, which he says is filled with tv and seasonal treats. SEASONAL TREATS, PEOPLE! That means Halloween candy. Halloween candy I'm not eating right now. Hmph.

I love my last two Thursday classes. The first one is two sisters, aged 4 and 6. They are living examples of Why Doctors Should Breed. They are so incredibly smart...they listen, they catch the meaning of things quickly, and they remember stuff from one week to the next. Plus they're really cute.

The second class is also two sisters, but this time aged 12 and 14. They are also pretty smart and cute...the elder one is studying English in junior high, and her conversational ability is amazing. The younger one....well, she tends to rely on her sister for translation and doesn't speak much, but she catches most of what we say, and is a first-rate mime.

Today we started unit 8 of their textbook, which is all about clothes and shopping for clothes. The first few pages were basically lists of different clothing items and accessories, one of which was "briefcase". This caused them to look extremely startled and excited much interest in the exact definition. After they looked it up, they started laughing hysterically. Naturally, I demanded to be let in on the joke. Turns out they knew one meaning for "brief"...namely, the style of underwear. So they were looking at the picture of the stylish career woman, wondering why on earth she had a suitcase full of mens underwear.

Still no word on the visa front. I hope it comes soon...I need to renew my alien registration card, and I can't do that without a valid visa. Grrrrrr.

I kind of want to try making these cookies for/with some of my classes. Because our Halloween parties start on Wednesday! Wheeee! I think I have settled on a costume, even. Making ladybug wings will be my weekend project. (I've decided that the apartment is clean enough. I wouldn't want to tidy up too much, or my mother might faint from the shock when she sees it. Such a thoughtful daughter, I am.)

Time for dinner. Pumpkin soup followed by carrot cake. Because you can never get enough orange vegetables.

Remember back in August, when I was talking a lot about Cambodia? I think I may have mentioned that I was trying to send a photo via email to one of the waiters I met there, but it didn't work. This made me feel badly, because from Chen's perspective, I was just another foreign asshat who blithely said stuff like "oh yeah, I'll totally email you, I promise" and then just...didn't.

Enter my friends, Mr. and Mrs. Crazypants. They went to Cambodia this weekend. They are back already. THEY WENT TO ANOTHER COUNTRY FOR 48 HOURS. This kind of thing is only not ridiculous if you're living in Europe. To actually fly somewhere? Overseas? And spend 48 hours there? Yeah. Hence the sobriquet of "Crazypants". Anyhow, naturally they approached me (ME!) for advice on what to do and see and where to go while in Siem Reap. All information I was able to help them with, after I got over staring at them in utter disbelief. In return, I asked them to deliver this photo for me. (Of course, they also got a nice restaurant recommendation out of it, so really, everybody wins.) Mrs. Crazypants emailed me this morning and informed me that they were successful in handing over the photo. Ha! Asshat no more!

I'm really looking forward to seeing what spellcheck has to say about "asshat".

Anyhow, while I didn't go abroad, I did still manage to have a fairly productive weekend. I'm working on reorganizing my living room...I bought another bookshelf and once I had it up I realized that the previous arrangement so wasn't going to fly, so then I had to take everything off the shelves and move them around, and then decided that that didn't look good either, and have to move stuff around some more. I have now reached an arrangement I can live with, and I am cautiously optimistic in saying that by next weekend, my living room may actually be tidy. Although probably only for two and a half hours.

Yesterday I was supposed to meet up with Heidi and Tomoko and go to a festival somewhere nearby. I have no idea what this festival was celebrating or even where it was; all I know is Tomoko wanted to go. Alas, she fell ill and was unable to crawl out of bed. Poor thing. However, she still really wanted to come up for dinner, so decided by late afternoon that she was feeling well enough for the trip. So both girls came up, and Heidi and I had dinner (Tomoko was still not eating), and they gave me birthday presents (it's the birthday that just won't end!), and then they went home. I should point out that the train ride between Shizuoka and Hamamatsu is over an hour long. Yeah. They're sweet, but mildly insane.

In addition to doing the whole living room thing, I've also been busy today making pumpkin soup and roasting more eggplants. (Lately it seems like I spend all my time roasting eggplants. Oh well. Tasty sandwichy goodness!) And I'm actually giving thought to making perogies tonight. I'm not sure what's up with all this sudden "doing stuff" energy I've got....I wonder if someone put crack in the water supply?

ps. Alas, "asshat" merely brings up the suggestion of "asset". "Crazypants", intriguingly, suggests "crispness".

An hour and twenty minutes until I am an illegal alien! Or a semi-illegal alien. Or, um, whatever the hell my status will be. Who knows? Certainly not me.

I found a large spider in my kitchen today. I made a half-hearted effort to scoot it out the door, but it scuttled behind the garbage can and so I just gave up and named it Charlotte. I am hoping she will help me with the cockroach problem I seem to be having lately. (Another one last night, in the toilet. Toilet room, that is, not the actual toilet, because wow, would THAT have been delightfully easy to deal with.)

The paperwork seemed to be acceptable. I still have no idea if the stamp in my passport is good enough to tide me over after today (today being, y'know, the DAY MY VISA EXPIRES) until the new visa is ready, but at this point there's not much I can do, so I'm focusing my energy on other stuff. Like making breakfast.

It is 26 degrees out today. I LOVE FALL IN JAPAN. Mom, while you might want to bring a sweater for cool evenings, I'd suggest leaning heavily towards capris. You will get many weird looks because a)you're a foreigner and b)it's October! Just because it's hot/warm out doesn't mean you can still wear summer clothes! Gasp!

Anyhow, Masami got the paperwork for me, and she called the office to make sure it was the correct stuff, but I think we all know that there is still a good chance that I will hand it over and be greeted with a sucking in of air through teeth and a "Yeaaaaahhhhhh....no."

So tomorrow's day will ideally go something like this....the weather will still be warm and non-windy and I will be able to ride my bike downtown (which I could really use, since this will be another day I miss going to the gym.) Hopefully I won't have to wait in line to hand over the paperwork and can be out of there in less than 10 minutes. Then I will go to LoLo Cafe for lunch (roasted chicken on panini, with a berry smoothie), and then I will swing by City Hall on my way back and get the paperwork for my new gaijin card. Oh, which reminds me, I think I need new pictures for it. Which means I'll have to stop by a photo booth somewhere and hope that they do the correct sizes. (I do still have a couple left over from my trip to Cambodia, which could probably be cut down to size, but are really, really fugly, and I don't want that to be my official ID for the next five years. I mean, seriously, I look like I've just escaped from a mental institution. Not pretty.)

Wish me luck.

Nothing like a sudden infestation of cockroaches to make you welcome winter with open arms. Sigh. At least I've gotten better about dealing with them...I still remember my first cockroach. I froze in the middle of my apartment and John had to come over and kill it for me. (Which, once again, thanks!) Then I went through a period where I would kill them, but emit girlish shrieks the whole while and feel disturbed afterwards. Now when I see a cockroach, I just kind of glare at it, all "Oh, for crying out loud" and then spray it and get on with my day.

Nasty large bugs aside, this has been a fairly good weekend. What did I do? Nothing. I made perogies. That was it. I was thinking about riding my bike out to the mall, but it was far too windy, so I stuck near to home instead. I went to a couple of home improvement-type stores and stared thoughtfully at shelving units. I watched a bit of tv. I started a book. I slept late and then lazed in bed before getting up. It was great.

Tomorrow is a holiday here, so I'm wondering how many students will show up.

And speaking of holidays, Happy Thanksgiving!

Go me. I just learned how to make perogies the lazy way. Apparently, instead of going through the time-consuming process of making the dough, you can just buy gyoza wraps instead, and fill those with mashed cheesy-potatoey goodness. They don't taste quite the same, but hey.

And in visa news, Masami thinks she has all the required paperwork. She's just gonna call the immigration office on Tuesday to confirm, and then hopefully all this gets sorted out. And then I get to go apply for a new alien registration card. And a re-entry permit, although that one is less urgent, especially given that I'm not planning to leave the country anytime soon.

This has to wait until Tuesday because Monday is a public holiday. It is National Health and Sports Day, or something like that. Ironically, I will be unable to do much in the way of healthy and sporty things because my gym membership is the restrictive sort that doesn't allow me to attend on public holidays. So instead I will stay home and, most likely, bake something involving lots of sugar. The irony.

Ah yes. Now I remember why I don't get up at 8 am. It's because it makes me really tired.

I think things are looking up...I got a stamp in my passport that says "application" and a paper with a list of things on it that Masami needs to supply me with...no idea what they are, since the list is in kanji. I'm assuming it's some sort of legal proof that I work for them, which is not something we actually have. I mean, I have the keys to the place and am currently the only one who understands the lesson plan filing system, but that's not gonna hold up in the immigration department. The guy I was dealing with kept asking for a pay stub, which I guess would prove I work for MI, but as I get paid in cash, this is problematic. Probably he wouldn't accept a crumpled envelope with "Thanks!" and a smiley face scribbled on it.

Turns out Masami left her cell phone at home today, so she didn't get any of my increasingly frantic messages until it was too late to call the immigration people and find out what they want from me. However, Andrew said when he last applied for his visa, all they needed was some kind of proof that he worked at MI...in his case, the school brochure was sufficient, as his picture is on it. Sadly, they have not updated the brochure since I was hired, so that will not work for me, but he did write up and print out a contract, which will hopefully do the job. Also, Masami is gonna call them up tomorrow morning and find out for sure...so it looks like another early morning for me. I must remember to bring a bigger book, though, as I managed to finish the one I had with me today in an hour and a half.

It's only 1 pm and already I'm tired. And have accomplished exactly NOTHING. Whee.

I mean, I knew I was in for a long day. I had to get up at 8, which for me is like getting up at 430 am for most people. I hit a few snags on the whole "leaving the apartment" thing, and so I missed the 924 bus. Not really a big deal, since I didn't have an appointment. While I was sitting at the bus stop, I suddenly noticed a strange and rather pungent odor filling the air. I looked up and...



A truck full of pigs!

Then there was a hearse. I was tired, so it took me a moment to remember what it was. My first thought was "Whoa. Who pimped that ride?"

Then there was the bus ride...it was an odd bus, with only a very few seats. Usually there are three or four single seats for the elderly, handicapped, or severely misanthropic, and then the rest are doubles. This bus was reversed. I did manage to snag a seat, but it was filled with elderly people, so I couldn't enjoy a nice bus nap for fear another elderly person would get on, and I'd be sleeping, and then I'd be the selfish young thing who didn't even have the courtesy to offer a seat to the frail, elderly grandmother. Also we stopped at almost every stop and managed to hit, I swear, every single red light.

I finally made it downtown and found the immigration office with relatively little trouble. Then I sat around for an hour and a half, only to be told, just before they closed for lunch, that I needed a certificate of work or...something? I dunno. Something that I do not have, at any rate. I emailed/called Masami, as this seems like something the school should be providing, but so far she hasn't responded. So now I'm home, still with an un-renewed visa, and mine expires NEXT FRIDAY, and I need a mysterious piece of paper. I'd start hyperventilating, but I'm too tired.

Always remember, just because it's fall, that doesn't mean that you won't still find big-ass cockroaches lurking in your kitchen sink.

Phew. I just resumed going to the gym today. I mean, I've been going all summer, but just for swimming. Today I decided that it is time to get back into the whole exercise thing, since the weather has taken a sharp turn for "cool" and "almost fall-like". (After six years, I still can't bring myself to say "Ah, what lovely cool fall weather" when it is still twenty-five degrees out.) I pushed heavy bits of metal around. I yogaed. I even did a short stint on the elliptical machine. So far I don't feel like collapsing, but I'm a bit worried about tomorrow.

Tomorrow is not set to be a fun day anyway. I have to get up early (I'm aiming for before 8) so that I can go downtown and try to remember where the immigration office is. It's time to renew my visa, as my current one expires...um, next week, actually. Oopsie. And then, if time allows, I need to go to city hall and see about getting a new alien registration card. That's right. Tomorrow I get to get up early AND deal with bureaucrats. Jealous?

Mmmf. I am sleepy. Liz and Pauline came over last night for a belated birthday dinner, and we ended up watching a movie until nearly 3 am. And then Liz insisted on getting up shortly before 10, which was not enough sleep. Mmmf. She always seems to think that if we get up early, we'll have a productive day, when in actuality, we just end up slumped in a cafe somewhere, desperately gulping down caffeine.

We did have a good day, though, and some shopping was done (I bought measuring cups. And no, I'm probably not going to be buying anything non-baking related for a while. Because baking? Is FUN.) It was a cold and rainy and dreary day, though. Now it is 19 degrees in my apartment and I have goosebumps, but am too lazy to get up and search for a sweater.