Thursday, December 23, 2004

Almost Christmas...

I've been in New Zealand for almost a week. It's weird... everything's green. It doesn't feel much like Christmas. Yes, there's the shoppers and the shopping... but it's weird since every Christmas in my memory is a winter Christmas! It just IS... White Christmas... that's what Christmas has always been. I'm getting used to the weather, but it just seems really strange at the same time. Especially since we're at the beach this year... heehee...

I'll take some cool pictures at Christmas... but believe me, I'll be missing the snow!

SO... Tomorrow Lauren arrives in New Zealand!! I'm excited... it'll be really nice to see her. It's weird she's like family. She's my Japan family! And now I have my New Zealand family as well... Ben and all his family are here. Now I have family all over. It's really fun. And then there's my original family... Heehee... my mum and dad... I wish they could be here for Christmas. BUT... Next year... I'll be in Alaska... Mum's already planning it.

I'll be updating for a Merry Christmas message... hope your shopping goes well!!!

Monday, December 20, 2004

HELLO!!

So, I made it to New Zealand. It's a fantastic place. It's SUMMER!! And green and lovely... I'm really enjoying things so far... and it's only going to get better. When I have more time, I'll write more... I had a great weekend with Ben and his parents, they're LOVELY. Just wanted to say hello... more to come soon!


Wednesday, December 15, 2004

I'M RUNNING AWAY!!!!

Yup... that's right. I leave for New Zealand in the morning. I can't wait!!! It's going to be AWESOME!!! You have no idea how much I need this vacation. :-) Wheeeeee!

I'll be doing loads of things there... taking LOADS of pictures... so I'll try to post some if I can. If not... you'll get a massive wave of pictures when I get back... and will be SO jealous. Heehee... that's the plan anyway.

Wish me luck, I have some sticky connections to make in the morning. :-)

TTFN!!
ROCKIN' GOOD TIMES!

Yesterday was AWESOME!!! Really it was... some things could have been better, but whatever... it's life.

I taught 5 classes (yes, count them - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5!). I was busier than a REAL teacher. Heehee... yes, I was just teaching Christmas lessons, but it was still a blast. That AND I got to teach with one of my FAVE elementary school teachers. Hanaoka-sensei ROCKS!! He's absolutely one of the coolest/nicest Japanese guys ever. First off, he's enormous, about 6'3" or so... which means everything in his classroom is normal size (the little podium I put my stuff on for instance!). Also, his class LOVES him. Every class he's ever had has been that way, so it's not just a fluke. Which means that all he has to say to get them to calm down is "shhh, listen" and they do!! So, that made for a great day! :-)

THEN... I went for an awesome run. Went about an hour and got in between 7 and 8 miles. It rocked!! Just went and kept up a good pace, it's been awhile since I did that. It felt really good. But MAN was it cold. Aw, well... I came home and laid down on my heated carpet and felt pretty good. :-)

And to top it all off... I went to kendo... and had an AWESOME practice. Getting things in order is so much fun. Basically, I'm learning all the skills I knew before, but with a lot more speed. And I got drilled on "doh" hits (chest protector) yesterday. It was fun, but I really didn't know what I was doing at the beginning at all. Wajima-sensei just kept making me do it! And I finally started getting it! Heehee... I'm a bit slow sometimes. :-)

GREAT day yesterday!!

AND today... I leave for Tokyo. Yup! I'll be leaving for New Zealand in the morning. Can't wait!!! WARMTH.... SUN... HEAT... They're all MINE!!! Hahahahaha... ;-)

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

As the World Turns...

And when we left Alisha last time... she was a crying, bawling mess... let's tune in this week to see how the story ends...

Really... It's amazing how someone talking sense can make you see how silly life is... and in particular yourself. I must give a standing ovation to Sean... my guru. He's all about telling me to CHILL out! And I thank him for that...

It doesn't mean that last night or even today was the best night or day of my life. But in the long run, I may be happier if I just let things flow along slowly... and see where things go. This is all in reference to Mike.

Yes, I'm still not ready to overlook the way things went down... but I'm ready to consider just hanging out once I'm back from break. And then, just getting to know each other. This is all starting to sound SO cliche, but in the end... whatever happens, happens. And I may have no control over that... which is going to have to be alright. I can see that now... or if I can't really see that clearly, I will in a reasonable amount of time.

So... I just wanted everyone to know at home... that I'm ok, and guess what?? I'm becoming a well-adjusted adult!! How cool is that??
;-)
Message for Sean...

Sean... I can't email you! I don't know what's wrong, but I keep getting my mails sent back to me... :-( Making me very sad. SO... if you read this... let me know. Is your inbox too full? Anyway... will talk to you later...

Monday, December 13, 2004

TYPECASTING SUCKS!!!

Yeah, I'll get around to the title of this entry in a minute...

Once again, I managed to find a guy that I liked. Oh, wait... the amazing thing about this guy is he liked me too... and he made me feel like I was someone special, like I was a person to hold onto... like I was meant to be with him. AND... then... somehow, just like all the other times in the past... it's been yanked away. It's a big - gotcha!!

Yeah, so Mike... not ready for anything serious... we don't know each other well enough... he wants to "take a step back to move forward" which is fine and good... but for once... for once, I really don't want to.... I don't want to be "the friend".

My life up until this point has been as "the friend"... high school, college, and Japan. So much so that I've pretty much perfected the role, I think I would win an Oscar in the category of being "Just Friends". And I'm tired. I am so ready to be with someone. I LOVE my friends!! I do... I may not say it enough... but I do. BUT I have enough friends... for once in my life, I deserve more.

But not this time... nope... once again, it's not meant to be. Only this time it hurts a lot worse than all the other times... because this time... I actually thought that Mike was different or special or something. But really... he's like the rest of them... just wants to be a friend. But for once, I might change my mold... and tell him no. Because my friends tally is all full up... I don't want another friend right now.

Yeah... so I'm having a bit of a shit time right now. Just needed to vent and let you, my friends, know. Thanks for listening... I wish I could have a hug from you all.
It's Monday...

Yup... it's that day again! ARGH!! I hate Mondays... but this one is particularly nice... I have multiple classes at the junior high, two classes at elementary school, then ANOTHER class at junior high. I think I'm going to be absolutely wrecked this afternoon. Oh, well... I'll live. But man, after these next three days alone, I'll have earned my NZ trip!! :-)

I leave for New Zealand on Thursday morning... for most of you that's Wednesday afternoon/evening. Heehee... but I'll be in NZ on Friday morning. Wheeee!! I can't wait. It'll be the vacation that I've really needed. AND it'll be SUNNY and WARM and JEALOUSY-INDUCING!!! As all really good vacations should be... heehee...

Hope your Monday's great!

Sunday, December 12, 2004


This is me and Tsubasa... a seven year old at the orphanage that we visited on Saturday. Lauren and I are rock-paper-scissors-ing for him before we leave in August. :-) Posted by Hello
Reactions...

So... sometimes I can be a little high-strung... I know that's a shock to some people, but yes, I can be a bit of a live-wire. And poor Mike found that out this weekend! ;-) See he changed plans on me at the last minute. Needless to say, I got a bit miffed. Well, pissed off really. And unfortunately, instead of just picking up the phone and telling him... I texted what I was feeling. BAD IDEA!! Intonation and intent is often lost by texting.

I talked to my mum, dad, and brothers... got a perspective on things... yelled a bit and then... I was ok. Got it all out... vented if you will and was fine. But the texts I sent were still hanging out there... and I think I scared the pants off of Mike. Argh!!

He's coming up today, so I'll have to explain the way my reactions sometimes work. So he doesn't get blind-sided by the next one. Poor guy... I told him I had a bit of a temper... but I don't think he knew what I was taking about really... now he does. :-)

Yeah... so, new resolution on the week?? DON'T SCARE PEOPLE... or rather, don't scare Mike. Hahahahaha!

Hope all's well on the weekend from with everyone! ;-)

Friday, December 10, 2004

BIG FAT LIAR!

So, after re-reading my post from this morning... I realized I'm SUCH a liar. I have some good/funny stories to tell... I was just too sleepy this morning to think. :-)

First off... on Wednesday I got to cook with my special kids at Tachikawa. There's only three of them... and we were doing no-bake cookies. You know the kind that are made with oatmeal, peanut butter and cocoa powder? Yeah those ones. Well... we got it all mixed up (Yasue is awesome at mixing!!) and had to put the stuff on WAX paper. Hmmmm... who forgot the wax paper? Oh, me! Don't know how I managed that, but I did. So we put it on this other stuff... not wax paper... and they wanted to stick. The only way we got them off was to practically PRY them off with a spatula. BUT the saving grace was that they tasted AMAZING! Yay!!

Then there was last night. Lauren organized the orphanage visit (there's an orphanage that we've gone to every year since I've been in Japan! I organized last year...). And we decided to do Christmas cookie decorating again this year. Which meant making the cookies, frosting and decorations all beforehand. As Lauren is BRILLIANT, she thought to invite her 3rd year girls (about 5-6 of them). Thank goodness she did! We made well over 300 cookies to feed and allow little kids to eat and decorate. Heehee... sugar them up. But the night wasn't interesting because of what we were doing... rather, it was interesting because of what we were talking about.

Girls will be girls... and we managed to gossip even with the language barrier. It was really good! And of course in the first five minutes the infamous/famous question came up... kareshi iru?? (do you have a boyfriend?) And for once, I got to answer... yes!! I got teased a bit... and Lauren's student asked how he is ('he' being Mike)... and Lauren made me really happy... and said he was awesome that he's a really great guy. Which just made me pleased as punch, it's one thing to know that's the case... but it's even better to hear one of your best friends reiterate it! :-) Thanks Lauren!!

And today... after teaching 4 classes this morning (and being absolutely wrecked) I decided to run in the awesome weather we're having. Did 7 x 2'-1' and was done in about 30min. GREAT feeling and now the endorphins are properly flowing! Gotta love that. ;-)

So there's the stories... my life hasn't been as boring as I try to describe it, it's actually been a great week!!


This is my name in kanji on my kendo tare (the hip protectors)... it reads 'Amarume' across the top... and then my name down the center bit. It's SO cool!! I'm so excited that I finally have a name... ;-) I was the no-name kendo-ka!! Posted by Hello
TGIF!!!

And MAN, is it ever good to say that. I thought this Friday would never come!! It's been quite a week. From Monday to now I've been busy busy busy. I NEED to sit and rest. But I won't get to do that at least until Saturday or Sunday. And even then I have to pack for New Zealand... so that's not going to be restful at all.

Garret's officially gone from Japan. He must have landed in Japan sometime in the wee hours of the morning (poor guy) and now he's on his way toward Fairbanks. On Wednesday night he said he didn't want to leave... he likes Japan too much. Heeheehee... he'll be back! ;-) Just wait.

This weekend is going to be really good. We have the Christmas orphanage visit tomorrow... we've been doing this since before I was a JET. The kids are awesome. We have a bajillion Christmas cookies made to decorate... and there'll be games... and a pinata! Should be good... as Lauren says... we sugar them up and leave! With all the frosting and cookies... that's exactly what'll be happening. :-)

MIKE is also coming up this weekend!! It'll be the last time I see him before I leave for New Zealand. Nothing big planned... just relaxing and watching movies... oh and TRYING to keep warm! It's gone really cold here.

Sorry for the boring blog... don't have many good stories!!

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Strange realization...

So... today I was leaving school... putting on my jacket and scarf... you know the drill... and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. And I had the scariest realization... I am an ADULT!! I look the part now... good clothes, good hair, responsible looking... even wearing a nice amount of make-up. When did this happen?? When did I actually grow up? It's very weird to just one day realize that I'm all grown up.

So, maybe I'm weird... but that was my major realization for today.

This week is getting scary busy... have classes all day long tomorrow... Garret's last day, I'm taking the afternoon off (hate the principal at Tachi-chu!!!)... and then we have an enkai (drinking party) and then Thursday I get to wake up at the butt-crack of dawn (yup, that's right!) to take Garret to Sendai. Then speed back for class!! Wheeee... this weekend will be good. Have an orphanage visit, music party... Mike's coming for Saturday night and Sunday. Can't wait to see him! I'm so tense right now... and he just relaxes me. Wish he were closer to me... *sigh* Oh, well...

Anyway... if this doesn't get updated for a few days... it's because I'm insanely busy... GOMEN!!

Monday, December 06, 2004

Tests are EVIL!!!

So, I took it. The Japanese Proficiency exam is finally over... and man, was it evil!! I suppose had I studied more (which I knew that I should have going into it) maybe I wouldn't feel this way. But I didn't. And I feel like tests are really evil. However, it did bring a lot of random people together that I never normally get to see... and we were all struggling against the same enemy (the test!). It was kind of like being in college around final exam time!! :-)

Oh, well... what can you do??

I also got to spend time with Mike. The more time I spend with him, the more time I want to spend with him. He's just this person who manages to teach me something new every time I'm with him. At times in the last few weeks, we've both said "man, I wish that we'd gotten to know each other last year!" But it's Mike who turns around and says, "things happen for a reason... we're together now..." I think he stole my line!! I used to be the optimistic one... how'd this happen?? Heehee... anyway... it was a tremendous weekend and it was really hard to say goodbye last night when it was time for me to come home. :-)

But it's just 6 days until I'll see him again!

Saturday, December 04, 2004

WEEKEND!

Yep, it's finally here. The weekend. *sigh* I never thought it'd get here. It's been a long and busy week. I love Tachikawa, but man... this week I needed time to chill out and study at my desk, but couldn't because I was working. Heehee... now I shouldn't complain, but it would have been nice to study. Oh, well... I'm not going to pass my test anyway... it'll just be a good exercise in taking a test. And then my brain will be leaking out my ears... and... yeah, I'm looking forward to the experience. Can you tell?? ;-)

I ALSO get to see Mike today. It's funny... even though I've never lived near him... and we're just really getting to know each other... I missed him this week. I guess spending 3 days together last weekend spoiled me a bit. It also didn't help that Ben wanted the full scoop... I think he approves... so far. He just doesn't want to see me hurt again. And I keep telling him what I told my dad (I told him this twice actually)... I've NEVER felt this way about ANYONE before. I think Ben believed me a bit more readily than my dad. Let's hope.

Anyway... maybe after the weekend I'll have some pics to put up on here. Heehee... we'll have to see how many times I can drag Mike into purikura. :-D Teehee...

Thursday, December 02, 2004

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MUM!!!

Yeah, so it's my mum's birthday. I won't give away her age because then she might get mad at me!! But I had to wish her a very happy birthday... she's my mum and I love her!!! :-)

This week has been flying by. Well, kind of. I've been studying like mad (not sure why, since it's pretty much futile!) for this test on Sunday. And things are going... kind of ok. Just wish I were going to come close to passing. Don't think that's even remotely possible... still... am giving it a go. In that respect things have been flying by... it's already Thursday!

On the other hand things seem to be CRAWLING along. Every night I just want to be with Mike. But no... it's still the middle of the week and I can't be with him. Now this sounds so silly... seeing as things have just kicked off between us... but the thing about Mike is that the more I talk to him and know about him... the more I want to know... and it's just a big vicious cycle. :-) So... I'll get to see Mike on Saturday afternoon... wish it were sooner, but it can't be helped!

This week I've been running like crazy! I've increased my time from 30 min. to 40 min. Even though the weather is markedly colder (tights, and stocking hats are out already) than last week. Something about running outside always makes things better. It's just nice to be running again. In about a week I'll start doing some harder stuff. Intervals and such.

Anyway... another big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mum.... I LOVE YOU!!!


Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Hey there...

Today's just a normal day. A few classes here and there. The weather sucks!! Still overcast and threatening looking. Poor Garret's at home in bed (my bed to be exact because it's warm!). He's suffering from the "I've caught a cold blues!" And trying to sleep them away as well.

I've been trying to get more sleep lately, but it's really hard with Mike being a bajillion miles away (ok, just 2 hours... but that's far enough!) so we talk late at night. It's just difficult is all. But... I like him more every time I talk with him. I've finally realized (how long did it take??) that this is real... it's not a dream... it's not my imagination... but Mike is real and he's fab.

Tonight I have dance practice and then I'm going over to have a visit with Oi-san. I haven't seen her in ages!! I feel bad, it's much harder though now that Ben's not in Yuza. I'm only there for dance things anymore.

Hope you're all having a great day!!