Merry Christmas!

And back to Canberra again tomorrow with a trailerload of furniture for my little nest.
I'll be there til Wednesday afternoon when I have another exam, then back to Sale after that for Christmas.

ANU's computer system is now open for enrolments so the fun befalls me again to search for the five fun classes I wish to do this coming semester. Now, assuming I have figured things out correctly, I don't actually have to do any more Japanese classes ever again! Though it seems that if I wished to, I could do up to two of them. Hrm. Last resort, methinks.
What I do need to do, it seems, is a few more linguistics subjects to fulfill my second major, which leaves me six empty slots to fill in with whatever courses I desire...
I wonder what I can find...

Now that the house hunting is over, its back to the books this week. So far I have two of my seven exams finished, and one more to be done before Christmas too.
With advice from a couple of people who have recently been there, done that, I decided to tackle the seven exams for the commercial pilot's theory in order of least difficulty. Navigation was my first one (and indeed the hardest part of the task was actually finding the exam centre - appropriate, somehow) - this exam mainly focussed on knowing where you are, how to read maps, and how to avoid getting lost.
Second on the list for me was Human Factors - things like remembering to eat, and the capabilities of various parts of the human body. That particular exam seems like such a long time ago, being down in Melbourne the day before I headed up to Canberra - a couple of weeks ago now. Three hours to drive for a quick exam then three hours back could get a little tiring, so we'll see how things go for this upcoming one, Aerodynamics (or, why planes have wings instead of Reeboks) in Canberra. The exam centre is in Civic, so should be much easier to get to.

I have a new burrow!!

A quick phone call to the agent this morning to hurry them along ask when I would be likely to find out yes or no on this little place had me talking to someone who really had no idea what was happening, and told me I would find out "in the next couple of days"... Oh well.
But not half an hour later the real agent rang back to let me know that I have been approved! Whether or not one hand knows what the other is doing, I'm quite happy to take what this hand says. Now, to go to the bank and get a cheque, head over to the office in Woden (why its that far away I dont know) and sign a lease!
There is another person nesting in the place still at the moment, so I will be able to move in from the fifteenth of December. That's not too far away!

I may have found a new burrow. Handed in an application form today to the estate agent dealing with the lovely little flat I found yesterday, and they seemed to think that I'd find out in the next day or so...
Can't wait, hopefully for them to tell me Yes.

Dad is up here for a couple of days too, so today we spent a little bit of time doing the touristy thing and went and sat in the public gallery at Parliament House during question time and listened to our elected representatives call each other galahs and wombats (yay, wombats!) for an hour or so.

Cross your fingers, toes (and other appendages if you wish) for me, and with a bit of luck I'll be able to update you tomorrow with good news.

After not being able to do much in the way of house hunting on the weekend, I was really looking forward to getting back into it today. I did try and see one place on Saturday morning, but the estate agent didn't show up, so I think I will give that place a miss. Peering through the windows it didnt look like much either, so I was happy to leave it at that.
Back with computer access at the Accommodation building (that no one lives in) I was able to line up three more places to look at today. The first one, unfortunately, was a dark, pokey little hole in the wall with mould growing everywhere.
Pass.
However right across the road at the second place of the day, I was very very impressed. Ten minutes drive from ANU, just around the corner from the Manuka shops, the cleanest place I've looked at so far and very cheap - including a microwave, stove and fridge!
I'll take it! (Now, here's hoping they don't give it to someone else instead!)

There are a few more photos up in Australian Scenery, just a couple of around Canberra from the weekend.

Today began with another search for places to live - though for a while it didnt seem particularly fruitful a search today.
There were no new listings added last night or today, which meant that all the places of interest in there I had already rung up about. Nevertheless, I was looking forward to seeing a place considerably cheaper than where I looked yesterday, though considerably further away.
I'm not as keen on that place after having seen it than I was before I went out there. Its half an hour's drive from ANU during the middle of the day with hardly any traffic, almost all on the freeways that will indeed be slower during peak hours. That means much much longer of a trip to the airport should I need to go out there.... buses didnt seem particularly convenient to that house either.
Feeling a little down after that (and also because it was 33 degrees) I decided to visit Goodberrys, which refreshed me as always. On the off chance, I called into a real estate agent's shopfront to see what they had around, and was able to spot a not too bad looking property just around the corner from the Belconnen centre, which I then went to inspect. Its a little cheaper than the first place I looked at, though it doesn't have a fridge or washing machine, which could be why. It does have carpet, which to me is rather important, having two burrows in Japan earlier this year with old lino floors...
And no funny smells, which the first place had. I am rather taken by this place at the moment, not in any way related to it being rather close to Goodberrys, (oh, and ten minutes from ANU), but possibly I'm hot and tired and want to find a place to park and not have to worry about the time expiring. Still, it isn't a bad little unit up there, a sufficient little burrow for the year.

Back to ANU to do some wombatting and check my email, but the library had closed - they are on short hours because its not actually term time. No problem, I thought, and headed for the nearest computer lab... do discover that my student card no longer opens doors for me! Apparently the computer system knows that I'm supposed to be in Japan this year and refuses to allow me entry to the uni buildings...
So right now I'm sitting up the front of a deserted Manning Clark theatre, walking around every five minutes or so to trigger the motion detectors and stop the room from plunging into darkness.
I wonder what I will do tomorrow...

And so the search for a new burrow begins.

I came back to Canberra yesterday, making it a little over a year since I left. Things have hardly changed, though there is a new Goodberrys in Dickson, I see, and the Moose is open.
There are a couple of new photos up, nothing too exciting but it's a start. Many an hour this morning was spent tracking down possible burrows on the excellent real estate websites here, though many places seem to have only one or two times a week that properties can be viewed. I guess they still have people living in them...
I did get to see one place today, by virtue of it being vacant (as, it seemed was the old fellow next door feeding the magpies). Quite a nice place, probably about ten minutes from ANU and mere metres from a bus stop. I must find out exactly where that bus goes to, before deciding whether that is convenient or not. The only thing is the rent is a little on the high side of what I would have preferred, but we'll see what else is available. The owner of that place (it's a private rent, no estate agent) is going away for a few days, so that gives me some time to explore other places and see whether or not this really is too expensive, or whether it is a good deal. It felt spacious enough, but I guess most places will feel very spacious when there is not a skerrick of furniture in the place...

I'll keep you updated. Now, to forage for some food...

Some more photos are up!
Tiea and Evan's wedding (in the American Culture album), American Airlines' lunch boxes, and the last few photos from America, plus the all-new Australian Photos section, with Scenery (ok, not much in there yet), some flying pictures over Seaspray, and the Sale Show.

Well, as you know I've been working at the Electoral Commission the past three weeks. Things are going very well, and I'm one of the few asked to stay back for an extra week for 'distribution of preferences', a complicated mathematical problem made much much easier by moving 92,000 individual votes around the table. They needed only people who had done this before, as it confuses some people... well, I haven't done it before, but they seem to think that I'm a fast learner. (Wombats don't have opposable thumbs, but so far I've been able to hide this fact by the use of rubber thimbles.)
The 20 or so people, like me, employed as temporary scrutineers to count everyone's vote would, of course, overcrowd the little AEC office if we stayed in there, so somehow it was arranged that we took over the large empty room directly upstairs - a disused nightclub.Given, also, that we work on a temporary basis, we have time sheets to note times we start and stop work, take lunch, et cetera. Being government paperwork, they are quite detailed, including a breakdown by percentage of how much time per day each person spends on each task. John, the fellow downstairs who manages employee pay is very insistent that we fill in our percentages 'exactly'. Well, he wanted precise, so our table decided that 47.832% was more precise than 50%, so our percentages were all to three decimal places.John has an amazing lack of a sense of humour and was overheard complaining of "sorting out the mess those peasants upstairs made". Peasants, eh? Well, given the spirit in which the comment was made, we could complain, but it wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun...Our timesheet folder no longer says "Temporary Scrutineers' Time Sheets", but "Peasants' Time Sheets", the covering sheet is no longer addressed to "Everybody," but to "Peasants". Ahh, the fun you can have with a printer and a photocopier...People are gradually starting to notice, though I'm sure most people are unsure as to the origins... though around midday Friday some flowers turned up, from the husband of one of the scrutineers, addressed 'To the hardest working peasant of them all'...

Finally managed to get a photo from Dad in China (apparently, communication doesnt always work as we expect it to) today, so it's now posted on his own online diary. More are still to come, but for now,
An Aussie Mandarine

My job with the AEC started today, unexpectedly. This is a good thing... more money, quicker. Seems I caught them right at the end of a pay cycle, so my first paycheque is... tomorrow! Yay! This will go a long way to funding my new habit of buying (and spending...) phone cards.
Now if only I could get to some high speed internet and upload all those photos...

The job search is going rather well, after a slight hiccup before I'd even started.
Once I had a new ink cartridge and some fresh resumes, off I set to trawl the shops in Sale to convince someone to give me money. All day spent wearing the tread off my shoes, I get home exhausted, to a phone call from the electoral commission.
I get to count your votes! After Australia decides to either watch John Howard's eyebrows grow another three years, or finds out what interesting caricature can be made of Mark Latham (who sent me a letter today), I become part of the team that finds out which way the great unwashed have voted. Yay!

One day this week too I will go somewhere where I can use high speed internet, and upload all the rest of the photos I have been needing to for ages. Photos from Tiea and Evan's wedding, from Cincinnati, from inside various airports and aeroplanes across America (including the eskys and lunch boxes American Airlines use instead of in flight meal service these days).

I got a job! Yay!

Searching for job... still no luck. I guess there's always the Palace again...

Mum gets back to Australia from China tomorrow, assuming the little fellow pulling the rickshaw makes it to the airport on time. I'll be able to post some of Dads photos over the weekend, so stay tuned!

I'm back in Australia.I left Cincinnati last Tuesday afternoon, Sarah taking me to the airport. Flying one hour from Dayton to Chicago, changing planes, waiting two hours, flying four hours to Los Angeles, changing planes and flying fifteen hours to Melbourne, getting in early Thursday morning.American Airlines did provide me with a dinner - a turkey sandwich in a paper bag we had to collect before getting on board, and they tried to charge two dollars for the headset to listen to the in flight movie. The movie didnt look any good anyway, so I refrained from contributing to their keep-out-of-bankruptcy fund. I was able to pass my time by watching a group of thunderstorms about halfway across the country, an amazing light show spread over about a hundred kilometres of lightning. Qantas from LA were far more passenger-friendly; two hot meals with full cabin service, free headphones AND their travel packs, with nice comfy socks, a sleeping mask and folding toothbrush. Sarah's idea with the sleeping tablet paid off and I was able to get nearly eight hours uninterrupted sleep - a first for being in cattle class on an aircraft! Qantas deserve praise for removing thirty seats from their 747s and giving every passenger an extra couple of centimetres legroom - I had comfortably enough, which made a nice change to Delta on the way across which cramped me with less room than my knees took up, and squeezed me between two fat passengers.Melbourne Airport was the model of fast, efficient service, taking no longer than thirty minutes from wheels touching the runway to being through immigration, baggage claim and customs and standing outside the terminal!

I'm sorry it's been such a long time since I've posted on here.
Days are slowly passing as I simply exist in my third underground burrow for the year.
Sarah is working Monday to Friday, real world hours in a real world job.
I'm trying my absolute hardest for her parents to like me, trying to help out as much as I can, trying to be friendly.
Week One went by all right, though my bed did fall apart after a week. I had to cut five new slats of wood, and sand them, and re-make the bed.
Week Two felt, at least to me, a lot better, everyone seemed more relaxed and I began to think that this isn't that bad. Had a 21st celebration for Sarah, then a graduation party too. I had a much better week, only to find out at the end that that was just Sarah and I. Everyone else was apparently 'walking on eggshells' all week.
Can't wait for this weekend. We're going to Bloomington again and it will be just fantastic.

I know some of you have been wondering: I will be back in Australia by the end of September. I dont know any more specific than that yet, and I certainly don't want to leave Sarah, but I have to return to the Great Southern Land. (Anyway, summer is running out here and I might be able to avoid any cold weather at all).

We're about to leave Bloomington: Sunday we will finish packing and head off to Cincinnati to stay in a new burrow; in Sarah's parents' basement.
I don't wanna go there... I like our little burrow in Bloomington!
To quote Manuel, "I stay here. Is nice."
Sigh.
We'll see how long I can stay. It feels very awkward being there, as though my presence is tolerated, but not actively welcomed, and that I am being constantly watched and scrutinised.
Should be OK for a while at least, as every weekend for the next three we have things planned, and we'll be back in Bloomington at least twice more.

We've covered a lot of ground this week.
Tuesday we flew to Cincinatti for lunch with Sarah's parents, just there and back in the day. So nice flying along with the GPS and autopilot on, looking out the window while relaxing on leather seats. Air traffic was busy around Cincinatti, though not as busy as it could have been: apparently Dubya was supposed to be there that day too, though he never showed up.
Today we're back in Cincinatti again, though this time we drove. (Hrm.. three hours compared to an hour fifteen in the plane?) Loaded the car to the gills with stuff, moving out of our little apartment (sob, sob).
We'll be back in Bloomington tomorrow, for a couple of days...

Is it just me, or does the Olympic Cauldron look suspiciously like a Bic ballpoint pen?
It's even got the metal nib at the business end...

By popular demand, photos of Bubba, the Penguin, Me, and proof of the high demand for Miracle Whip are now up, along with other photos from the wedding of Sarah's cousin.
American Culture Photo Album -->

Wal-Mart is another American institution.
Like a K-Mart or Target, they have a large range of stuff to sell; the difference is that they have a huge range of stuff. Aisles upon aisles of stuff, from appliances to pot plants, car tyres to baby clothes, shoes to computers, children's toys to guns. Yup, guns. Rifles on one aisle, the other side had Sesame Street books. And handguns in plastic, just like you'd buy action figures.
The shop has its own fast food shop inside, as well as a car service centre and even an optometrist.
Oh, and its cheap, too, so thats where all the ferals congregate.
Photos are up.

While playing on the internet today, it dawned on me that LPG is simply not available in America. The oil companies won't allow it to be explored, much less be a relied-on method of power.
Mind you, petrol (or gas, as they call it here) is cheap - on the order of 50 to 60 aussie cents for a litre.
Calling it "Gas", even though it is clearly a liquid, leads to amusing misunderstandings, when someone proclaims they "got gas on the way over", it simply means they have more petrol, and not a warning to open the windows and stand far, far away.

Two rather new flying experiences this week; on Tuesday I had a few shots at flying (and landing) a tailwheel aeroplane, and last night went for a night flight.

Flying a tailwheel aircraft is no different to one with a 'normal' tricycle undercarriage, but when it comes to landing one, thats when things get hairy.
Normally, you have the centre of gravity in front of the main wheels, so when you put on the brakes, the wheels just drag behind the plane, slow you down, and hopefully stop when you want to stop. Tailwheel planes have the main wheels up front, which means you are trying to stop with the full weight of the plane trying to get past the wheels in front.
Keep it balanced, and it all works. But should the plane start to swing sideways, one needs to jump on it quickly or you will quickly find yourself pointed in the opposite direction...

Night flying on the other hand is just lovely. There's normally not much else in the way of air traffic, so its easier to get where you want to go, when there is traffic, its much easier to spot flashing strobe lights in the darkness than a little wing against a cloud. Night is cooler, calmer air, so its a smoother ride... and best of all it looks so pretty up there with city lights below!
Americans need three hours of night flight to get their private licenses; we need ten hours to get a seperate Night rating... well, one hour down! Unlike Australia, there's not much space on the ground here unlit: even between towns there are houses and other lights spattered across the land... makes it very easy to pick which part of the black is land and which is sky.

Its been a while, I know, but Act Two is up down below.

Dramatis Personae

Amanda, cousin to Sarah, the bride.

Chris, former Wendys worker, the groom.

Chuck, a fire-and-brimstone, praise-the-lord faith healing pastor.

Howard and Eva, the bride's parents, somewhat reluctant.

Grandma, somewhat vocal.

The Groom's Mother, just married to a big black man called Bubba.

The Rels:

Kay, an aunt, just arrived from thirteen hours on the road.

Justin and Cathy, Sarah's parents.

Kim, an aunt, being a bridesmaid.

Kelly, lost in Montreal.

Prologue

Amanda and Chris met a few months ago, while Chris was working at Wendys (a hamburger fast food place). His aspirations included becoming manager of the Wendys, and operating his opposable thumbs. He has since ceased working at Wendys: indeed he has ceased working anywhere at all. Nevertheless, the two decided to marry, so here we are.

Sarah and I arrived on Friday, as she needed to collect her dress from the dress shop. We had been down about a month ago for a fitting: turns out that the only alterations needed were the waist taken in a little, and the hem ironed down. This cost, in total, $70 (AU$ 95), just for the alterations... in addition to the price of the dress.Onward to Grandma's House, where we meet the rest of the extended family and listen to the trials and tribulations of Kelly's struggle to get from Montreal, where she had been making macaroni and cheese, to Lousiville. Missing her flight, she was able to find another seat as far as Toronto, which, while at least in the right direction, is still in Canada. Eventually making it as far as Chicago she then had to wait many hours until a seat was available to get her to Lousiville. After making it on board one plane then being booted off again, she was finally able to get a seat a couple of rows in front of the prisoner escorted between two armed policemen.Hrm.I tagged along to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on Friday evening, just to see what was going on. Rehearsal itself was reasonably smooth, with the only person tripping over being the seven-year-old flower girl, no harm done. Dinner afterward .. well, there were Subway sandwiches, or rather, bread rolls and filling (one had to put it together oneself) bought from Subway on the way across, plenty of soft drink, and people sat around plastic tables in the church foyer.

Act One

Scene: The "On Fire Christian Center"

Yes, that's really what the church was called. The users behaved themselves, and only left two little old ladies sitting up the front with nowhere to go. For reasons unknown to most, there was a rather large penguin sitting on the stage, up the back under a flower arrangement. Chuck, the pastor, did devote a rather large section of the address to the Ten Commandments, of all things, and explained how they are supposed to work. I guess none of us will be coveting our neighbours asses anytime soon.

The pengiun was well behaved, the pastor was pointed in his "Work hard and be faithful" speech, directed at Chris, and the groom's collection of mothers and stepmothers kept their part of the congregation reasonably silent.

Once the ceremony was done, we bolt from the church and race to the reception... place.

Act Two

Scene: Dixie Bowl Tenpin Bowling Alley, the reception hall.

Who on earth has a wedding reception at a tenpin bowling alley?

Having spent an hour or so beforehand stacking up bread rolls and laying out trays of cold meat, cheese, vegetables, cantaloupe, mustard and pickles, our first task was to set out the chips and dip and turn the coffee on before the guests arrived. We didnt have much time, for since the wedding ceremony finished at about 4.30, everyone was jumping into their utes and racing over to be there around 5. The reception didnt officially start until 5.30, but that didnt stop people hoeing into the chips and coke as soon as they arrived. The room was rather clearly split into 'his' family and 'her' family... pretty easy to tell who was with whom.
One small child, a girl of about 10 or 12 was looking with concern at one of the dressings.
"Is that mayonnaise?" she enquires.
"No, it's Miracle Whip." Miracle Whip being an artificial substitute for mayo. Like artificial cheese, but mayonnaise flavoured. Hearing this, she visibly relaxes, exclaims
"Praise the Lord!", and piles an extra large spoonful onto her plate.

She was from 'his' side.

The entire wedding was dry, even the champagne toast the couple give each other was carbonated apple juice. Even Jesus drank wine... but, each to their own. I was more than a little surprised that the cutting of the cake ended in a food fight, with some cake ending up in the groom's nose and the bride's ear.

The thing about not actually being able to do the exams for the instrument rating (or anything) and have it issued means I'm rather stalling in my flying at the moment. I've completed most of the flying stuff for the instrument rating, though I need more hours. Finishing the rating means an exam as well, which I would need to take in Australia for it to actually count. Now I get to look at some Night flying, and might look into getting that tailwheel endorsement too.
For the Commercial license, I've already got my 10 hours instrument from this, which is good, though I do have a while to go to build my 100 hours in command.
Good luck to me!

In the middle of July, I'm used to cold, wet days, not daylight til 8.30pm and 30 degrees.
So the other day when I stepped outside at half past four into an almost dark sky, chilly winds and spattering raindrops, I did for a moment feel like I was back home. We had quite a strong thunderstorm, which was nice, and of course after it passed, the humidity was gone. With the rain pouring down and me wanting a jumper, yes, its July.

Back flying tomorrow: we're off to Louisville for the day. I get to build up some more command time, which is always nice, and as a bonus we fly over corn fields. When calculating times the other day in my logbook, the last flight I made in June took my grand total flying hours to exactly 100. Not 99.9, not 100.1, spot on. That was fun.

Here's to the next hundred!

For some reason, we never seem to have a weekend at home. This weekend just gone was a trip to Sarah's great-aunt's, in Kentucky again.
I think we ate more food this weekend than in the last fortnight. Trips to an all-you-can-eat buffet, barbeques at home, blackberry desserts, not to mention having enough food to last us a month plied on us to take home.
Thank you!
 
Aunt Margarett is a lovely lady, though I was taken aback being asked if I knew what blackberries are, had I seen a clothesline before, and if, in Australia, we had 'blacks'. Still, I can't thank her enough for the hospitality, food, and for being so nice.
 
On another subject, there are some videos of penguins up at the end of the Zoo photos. They might take a bit of time to load if you are at home, but if you have a fast connection it should be OK.
 

Little did we know what an adventure we were in for last night.
Being Tuesday, we were out at the Spoon, an excellent coffee house in town, and headed home around midnight.
So far so good.
Walking to the apartment door from the car, it soon dawned on us that neither of us had the front door key. Nor was it in the car. Running back over the evening, we figured that it was either still hanging up beside the door on the inside, or we had left it somewhere, likely the Spoon. (Not the first time, once before we managed to leave the power supply to my laptop at the Spoon.)

Hunting around in the car we managed to find a torch, though nothing to pick the lock with. NOt that that would have done much good - neither of us having the first clue how to pick a lock anyway. (Well, I did figure out how to open Mr Shimada's phone, in Saitama, but... anyway..)
The windows were, unfortunately, locked (to prevent people climing in from the outside... forward thinking on our part!), but with the help of the torch we could see, dangling on the hook beside the door... yes, the door keys.

Right.

We live in an apartment complex, and there is an after-hours maintenance fellow you can call. Fine, except we didnt know the number. Sarah did at least know where the office was, so off we headed in the hope that there would be a phone number written on the door.
There was, which when called led to a recorded message telling us another number to call, and also a third number to call if no one responded to the second number within half an hour. So we ring the second number and are able to leave a message. Its now 12.30.

1:00 comes and not a peep from maintenence people or anyone, so we call the third number, which is a pager. So we leave our number.
No response.
It rapidly got to the point where we were calling the pager every five minutes or so, and leaving enough messages on the answering machine to fill the tape, but still not so much as a sausage in response.

Well, at least it wasnt too cold. We slept in the car. Its amazing how comfortable it can be with the seat stretched all the way back. Nothing like a good bed, or indeed any bed, but better than nothing.

8:00 comes and neither of us had had much sleep, so we turn up at the door of the office again and wait until someone comes to work, get a spare key from them, home, and sleep solid until 1 pm.

We need a spare key.

The other flying school here in Bloomington have tiny little Cessna 150's, cute little things with two seats, a ridiculously underpowered engine and almost nothing in the way of advanced controls. You point it where you want to go, and provided you arent in a hurry, thats where you end up.
They best part is they are cheap, too - cheapest planes Ive found. That, and they have an online booking system so one can schedule the plane on the internet.
I figured I'd give both a try, so after getting a check ride in the little plane last week Sarah and I flew to Cincinnatti.

Getting there was relatively simple, taking off from Bloomington after the flying school sorted out the problems with their online booking system (it's new..), and a little over an hour later we were in Cincinnatti. Now, right over the busy part of that airspace, our transponder decided to kick the bucket. The transponder, among other things, tells air traffic control how high we are flying, and that was what it decided to stop saying. They were kind enough to let us fly the rest of the way, but those things are rather vital. Nice, kind controllers..

Spent a while on the ground at the other end, tried to call Sarah's parents, who live in that town, to meet us for lunch, but they didnt answer the phone. Sportys Pilot Shop is a rather large pilot shop, like a Target or K-Mart for pilots, but right on the airport. I spent some enjoyable time playing with the headsets, and though I liked the Bose model, very high end of the range, that was far too expensive. One day... maybe..

Off we headed for home, only to be confronted by three or four thunderstorms lurking menacingly around the city. Tough enough when they gang up like that, but corner one on its own and they whimper like babies. Anyway this time they were at least three of them, so best to turn tail and run. The controllers were helpful enough and sent us way way down south to avoid them, until we spotted a gap between two and took it. Crawling along at 80 knots ( I said it was underpowered ) there was a short while where it looked like the weather was closing in, so we headed to the nearest airport prepared to land and wait out the storm, but by the time we got there all the storms had gone to bother other people and left us alone. This was good, for it left the sky clear and smooth all the way back to Bloomington, where we could get a well deserved meal.

Sorry it's been such a while since I've posted, but here we go.

The weekend was great; we drove five hours to Sarah's sister Kelly's place in Chicago (you know, Blues Brothers, Al Capone, that place), a lovely drive except for the traffic once we got into the city, making the last ten kilometres take an hour.

For a free zoo, the zoo in Chicago is excellent. Yes, it costs $12 to park there, but since it was close to where we were, we just walked. Monkeys, penguins, camels, polar bears, aardvarks... I could watch monkeys for hours. Penguins, too. Gorillas sitting staring at the crowds, chimpanzees stealing straw from each other, lemurs holding baby lemurs, penguins swimming in circles... OK, we did watch the monkeys for hours... Theres even a new photo album up with Zoo pictures.

Saturday was supposed to be Fourth of July Fireworks (yes, I know it was the 3rd), so Kelly hosts a party in her apartment which has views of the lake and the place they were going to set off the fireworks from...

There was a thunderstorm or three and it rained rather heavily most of the day.

Well, the party was still fun, and at least we were dry, as opposed to all the people camped out by the lake to watch non-existant fireworks.

Sunday, more walking around the city. I think I wore about a centimetre thick layer of skin from the soles of my feet this weekend. We saw the Sears Tower, supposedly the tallest building in the world ... but thats a bit of a porky: there are two buildings in Kuala Lumpur that are taller, and have been there since the mid nineties. But its still the tallest building in America. We didnt go up, since it cost $10 each, it was a cloudy day, and its only 400 metres tall anyway: I fly much higher than that...

I did see some five-star public toilets, with a huge queue of people waiting (hope none were in a hurry) and little oompa loompas waiting to clean each one after each use...

Plenty of photos up in Scenery and Culture, and of course the new Zoo album too.

Watching TV tonight - a rare event, yes - I was stunned to see, at prime time during the news..
An ad for Viagra.
Yup, with dancing old men in the streets.

We're going away for the long weekend this weekend, so there will be no Wombats until next week. Its a long weekend for Independence Day, which as far as I know involves Will Smith killing lots of aliens, but Sarah assures me there will be lots of fireworks and also lots of people waving American flags. I'm looking forward to the fireworks, and to explore Chicago. We'll be staying with her sister until Monday, which gives us plenty of time to look around and forage for some food.

Today's quote from Dubya: "Its amazing, this modern technology. They have cameras that can distinguish between a squirrel and a bomb!"

Have a good weekend!

Hopefully it will work as planned - you'll notice a little box over there on the right where you can send short emails direct to me! Yay! With some luck, this will work better than the last incantation I had up there.
Looking forward to hearing from you!

So Brian Harradine resigned... did you know he had thirteen children? Thirteen! Must be something in that Tasmanian water...

oh, and the photos are up too.

Last week another friend of Sarah's, Melissa, dropping into Bloomington for a few days. Of course this meant going ten-pin bowling (I am getting better at this, really!), and in a moment of feeling sophisticated, throwing a 'dinner party'. Well, as sophisticated as okonomiyaki can get, anyway.

Saturday we set off to a place called Louisville to see Sarah's grandfather, who isn't that well, more family, and for Sarah to have a dress fitting. One of her cousins is getting married next month and Sarah is a bridesmaid... lots of fun! I had been warned about the erratic behaviour of Sarah's grandmother (hrm, does everyone have one weird grandmother? I heard Nana was committed the other day, or that might have just been wishful thinking) but I was pleasantly surprised that she seemed to be on good behaviour. Everyone else was surprised too.
There is a photo I must put up that I took on the drive; a removal van driving down the freeway with a piece of artwork on the side that made us laugh. Shall put the photos up soon, along with the

Lousiville is in Kentucky, which is apparently famous for horse racing, though I thought it was famous for fried chicken. I was on the lookout for a KFC, thinking that the signs may say 'FC', though I was disappointed. I did see a shop that had the whole name spelled out - havent seen one of those since they built one in Sale years ago, left the signs up for less than a month and changed them all to KFC.

We now have a clothesline! Sadly nothing so fancy as a Hills Hoist, but a plastic cord we can string up between the door and the window inside the apartment and dry clothes from. Saves paying a dollar for a load of washing in the dryer...

Have you ever seen the reaction you get when you offer the smell of Tim Tams to someone who hasnt smelled them in over three months?
Barely milliseconds into registering the sweet chocolatey aroma Sarah's knees gave way and she needed to brace herself against the kitchen bench while she stood up again.
Mmm... Tim Tams...

Photos from Bloomington Airport are up in the Flying section, and there are a couple more Culture photos too.

And the rest of Saturday followed a similar pattern of decadence. After watching a whole disc of Fawlty Towers (four episodes so far - Sarah is hooked!) we set out to sample various foods at the Taste of Bloomington - a sectioned-off part of the town with all the local food places holding stalls with samples of all their food. The food was good, though a little on the expensive side. Two slices of pizza, for example, cost about the same as having a large (whole) pizza delivered. Sarah's mate Art and I were considering for a few moments actually ringing up and ordering a pizza to the front entrance and eating it by the pizza stalls.

Yesterday was Fathers Day in America, so we drove to Sarah's parents place for the afternoon. Its about three hours away, and across the border in another time zone. They have a lovely back verandah, but sitting out on it for a few hours did result in everyone getting a little sunburnt. This is a novelty, sunburn in June. At least it wasnt too harsh (they have a full sized ozone layer here). I had already met Sarah's parents - they came to Canberra last October - and I finally met her sister for the first time. She works for Kraft, and sent us some of those little single serve packs of Vegemite last week.
Some more photos are up, from the drive through cornfields and around the place.

Happy birthday to me!

Linda from Canada sent me an absolutely adorable e-card, which I really have to share with you all:
Singing Pigs
With this, emails making me smile, (though Mum did get the date wrong...), Sarah brought me pancakes for breakfast while I was still in bed (meh, its a Saturday, its my birthday!), and watching a couple of episodes of Fawlty Towers - and this is just before lunch! Yes, its a great day!

The main point of instrument flying is to be able to fly through clouds, or whenever without seeing the ground. This is all very well, but flying yesterday Johntheflyinginstructor actually filed an IFR flight plan and instead of 'practising' flying without looking out the window (accomplished by fogged goggles - the 'foggles'), he had me fly straight into a big fluffy cloud so neither of us could even see the wingtips. Sadly the weather cleared up later in the hour and I had to put those foggles on again.
Clouds are wet, too, though they do look like fairy floss. Flying through them meant water pouring off the windscreen for most of the flight. I must admit it did feel a little on the strange side to be flying around and not able to see outside, but that is the point of the instrument rating.
Also had some fun playing with the GPS, and using it for an approach to land - following the little picture on the screen, and when Johntheflyinginstructor had me remove the foggles, there was the runway sprawled out in front of me, and back to land we went.
That was fun.

Getting the license was very easy - All I had to do was smile nicely at an old man, sign my name, and they gave me a 'temporary' license on the spot, my 'real' one is to be posted to me at some point.

Since we had made the trip to Indianapolis, Sarah showed me around Carmel, the city she grew up in, her old high school, the place she used to work, and just all around the place.
It is precisely the "America" you see in Disney movies. You know, the one where everyone has a three storey house with a front lawn (no front fences), children ride bikes with no helmets, telephone numbers start with 555, basketball rings out the front, basements, yellow school buses not used for any other purpose, and letterboxes with flags on the side.
I was rather kicking myself for forgetting my camera, but its not that far away and I'm sure we will be back in the area again soon. This place was incredible - just about every house would be upwards of at least $150,000 to $500,000 in the local currency - though the same things anywhere in Australia you would be looking at starting around the $800,000 or $900,000 mark. Huge! The school, for years 9 to 12 only, squeezes 3300 students in - and has the basic essential features no school could possibly do without, like a planetarium, five stadiums (some inside, some outside), a radio station, an olympic sized swimming pool, two cafeterias (not tuckshops!) and of course 3300 lockers.
I was very excited to see the nest of school buses - they really do look exactly like the bus on The Simpsons - and they spend the time when not actually on the school run just nesting in a rather large carpark all together. I will promise to put some photos of these buses up some time soon.
There are a couple of new photos up, but I tend to leave my camera behind at the times when I most need it. Like yesterday afternoon, when I saw a convertible full of old people stopped at the traffic lights...

Planning a little trip this afternoon to the FAA (big scary aviation regulators in America) this afternoon. They read over my license and stuff which I faxed them from Japan, and it seems they have realised that I am not a terrorist. They sent me a nice letter the other day to this effect, so I phoned and made an appointment to collect my American pilots license from them this afternoon.
The flying I did last week was technically without a license, but this is OK because Johntheflyinginstructor was in charge (on paper). If anyone would have asked, I could have been a new student pilot. But anyway, once I get this shiny new american license, I will be able to fly the plane solo or with passengers. This is a good thing.
I do hope it is a bit of paper A6 size or smaller.. then I can slide it into my license book alongside the Australian license and the New Zealand license... (I should start collecting these...)

I've been flying!
Earlier in the week I went back to the airport and had a squizz around, also found a real live instructor to talk with about things I want to do. He was very helpful, Johntheflyinginstructor, and friendly as well. So with no time like the present, we went for a quick flight. I hadnt been in the cockpit for four months, unless you count sitting in the left hand seat of that 777 last week. So a short familiarisation flight in a Cessna - yeah, the famous ones, though Ive only so much as sat in one of them once before - some turns around here and there, a bit of going up and down, then back to the airport and running a few laps around, just going in circles.
This plane lands a bit heavier than the airtourer... though that might have something to do with the pilot more so than the aircraft. I'll have to work on that.
Such a new plane, though. The airtourer is possibly the newest aeroplane I've flown before, and that is considerably older than I am. But this 'new' Cessna is no more than three years old! Nice leather seats, very comfy, plus fancy schmancy instruments and GPS and all the bells and whistles. Yay.
Oh, and there's a window in the back so you can look out and see where you've been.... well, its still nice.

Then yesterday back out there again, being 'familiar' enough with the aircraft to start the intensive stuff. I'm doing an instrument rating over here - which means flying without looking out the window. Yah. Well, the end result is being able to fly through clouds, instead of running away from them. This does have its advantages. So Thursday was spent flying around without me having any idea where we were, just flying the plane based on the six little dials in font of me. Was still fun, though. Apparently Johntheflyingintructor couldnt see much past ten k's anyway, so I wasnt missing much.

The other big news of the week - really big news - is Sarah has been accepted to Monash Uni for next year to do a Masters course. This means she will be living in Melbourne next year, and a visa will follow shortly, making getting in to the country a lot easier. Of course, I will still be in Canberra, but that is a lot closer than Sendai.

I think I am (scarily) finally used to driving on the other side of the road. I still have to think every now and then at intersections (left turn, FAR lane, right turn, NEAR lane), but it no longer feels like I'm about to be pancaked by a bus just driving down the right-hand lane on the road. It took a bit over a week to get comfortable: before then it was just plain scary. On the subject of cars here, I still think its odd to see cars without front number plates. Some cars do (Sarah's does), but most local cars either drive around looking naked on the front bumper bar, or stick 'novelty' number plates on. Things like the local university logo, which looks frighteningly like Neptune's pointy sticky thing, or smiley faces. And the indicator lights on the back... are actually the brake lights. Yup, brake lights flash on one side or the other, which just looks a little strange to me. (Some cars have the normal orange ones too).

The last few photos from when I was in Japan (hehe... past tense.. that makes me smile) are now up. There are some photos in Engrish, Culture and in Scenery, as well as some in the brand-spanking-new Flying album. I particulary like the road sign in Kyoto prohibiting rickshaws as well as bicycles. The powers that be obviously felt that this was a problem serious enough to have signs up.

Went out to Bloomington Airport the other day and talked with people there about going flying soon. I'm very much looking forward to getting back up in the air - its been far too long.

I think its lunch time... more wombatting later.

Australian culture, as percieved by America:


This is where we had tea last night.

Sarah got a gleam in her eye when she came up with this idea, though she flatly refused to tell me where we were going until we got there. I had heard of it before, but couldnt quite place the exact name. I read about it in the paper in Australia years ago when the places first opened, and Australians in America nationwide cringed. So, I was prepared for things to be a little 'strange' inside.

Not more than two steps inside the door and I was already in shock. Huge plastic surfboards glued to the wall, with 'Fosters' logos everywhere, the wooden columns holding the ceiling up each had giant brown koalas hugging them (possibly stapled to them), a carved wooden platypus on the wall, and very nice posters and photographs of places such as the Gold Coast, Uluru, 12 Apostles, Bondi Beach and similar tourist attractions.
It was the brown koalas that got me.

So we sit down, and perusing the menu is just confusing. I put up a copy of the menu in my new photo album.. have a look, and let me know if any of it makes sense to you.

Oh, yes, on that, more photos are on their way, but I need to figure out how to plug my camera into the university computers... still working on that.

Here I am! Many many hours after leaving Sendai, Osaka, Tokyo, I'm finally in Bloomington.

So, the last few days..

Thursday evening, after surprising many people in at Tohoku by telling them that I was leaving (when? yes, tomorrow!), headed in to the city centre for my farewell party from the other exchange students at the Kaikan. Was everyone that pleased that I was leaving? More people turned up for my going away party than I had met so far.

I guess I probably should have gone back to the burrow a little earlier, given that I had a large amount of packing still to do, but I didnt, and ended up with only four hours sleep.
Awake early, finished packing, the little oompa loompa from the office came and 'inspected' my room (to make sure I hadnt set fire to the place, I think), and I handed in my keys and paid my last gas bill. Ten minute walk down to the post office to send my heavy winter clothes back to Australia, then back to the Kaikan, picked up my bags and flagged down a taxi.
Took the airport bus out to the airport, checked in and had to tell the check in oompa loompa why I had such heavy bags. Japanese people travel very lightly... the weight limit in total for checked baggage on domestic flights is a mere fifteen kilograms, and people are considered abnormal to even consider getting close to that.

It was very much a relief to sit down on that plane and know I was finally leaving Sendai for good!

Arrived Osaka and tried to find somewhere to either store my suitcases until my return Sunday morning, or else get them delivered to Tokyo airport and I collect them there. The delivery service couldnt promise to get them there on time (no, picking them up Monday is NOT acceptable!) and the luggage storeroom opens far too late in the morning for my 8am departure.
Finally found a coin locker to leave them in, took some changes of clothes in my backpack and off I went!

Met up with Izumi at Osaka station and off we went to explore Kyoto. I hadnt eaten anything since my tin of peaches eight hours ago (had to empty the fridge, and peaches are nice) so we had a late lunch, then met up with Lauren, who is living about five minutes walk from where Izumi used to live in Kyoto (and wishes she still does, I think).

Lauren has such a nice little burrow... she even has CARPET on the floor!
We spent much of Saturday afternoon wandering around Kyoto, and even made it up the hill to Kiyomizu, one of those really old temples - the one with the magical water. Magical or not, it certainly tasted great in that heat.

Some time Saturday I cancelled my mobile phone, but they let me keep the actual handset, though it stopped working... made things interesting to try and meet up with the ANU crowd on Saturday night in Osaka. Things would have been easier if I knew how to get to where I suggested everyone meet... how was I to know that the subway station and the JR station with the same name were fifteen minutes walk apart? I finally found them, Hiro, Izumi, Toshi and Saori from Ursula in 2002. Great to catch up again, though no one besides Izumi knew I was leaving, and the news (yes, tomorrow!) surprised them to no end!

Back to Izumi's place to try and catch at least a little bit of sleep before getting up at 5am to get to the airport on time.. stinking hot Japanese summer weather and getting back late anyway meant I got about an hour and a half sleep at the most.. up at 5, subway at 5.30, then to the monorail, and arrived at Osaka airport at 7am.
Took more effort than it should have to free my suitcases from the coin locker, but I was finally able to get them back, check in, and be on my way to Tokyo.

With two rather large suitcases in tow, I went exploring Narita airport in search of both breakfast and some shaving cream (as my last had run out before I left Sendai). Commandeered a sink in one of the airport toilets and freshened up: as much as one can shower in a sink. Breakfast (my last meal in Japan) was in none other than Starbucks, and Yusuke turned up and we spent a few hours chatting, watching planes, having lunch, and generally just being silly together.

Once checked in and through security, I found myself standing on the terminal shuttle next to a fellow with four bars on his epaulettes and a Delta airlines badge. Taking a chance, I asked him a couple of questions, told him I was on his flight, and by the time the train had arrived at the other end he invited me to come up to the cockpit before takeoff to have a look around - at the brand new 777. (He and the other pilots spent a fair bit of time wandering around the plane on the ground, climbing up into the engine cowling and taking photos of each other on their digital cameras - surely it wasnt their first time around that aircraft...
Anyway once on board, up to the cockpit I go, and they get me to sit in the pilots seat and I chat with three pilots for a few minutes about flying, and that I'm on my way to do some flying over in America. Two photos of ME!! in the pilots seat of Boeing's latest later, I go back down to cattle class and we take off.

12 hours on the plane, me with very little sleep beforehand, I would have expected to fall asleep at least at some point. Sadly I instead was able to stay awake through three movies and an episode of Sponge Bob Square Pants. Plenty of food though, though being trapped between two rather podgy americans made it difficult to either see out the window or get out of my seat.

Landed finally in America, at about 6am Japanese time and waited in line at Immigration for over half an hour. The big scary immigration officer asked me probing questions and took my fingerprints, but finally let me into the country! Yay! Around to baggage claim where I noticed my big green suitcase had been gnawed and chewed by the ground crew, but nothing had fallen out. Through customs, re checked baggage plus security tape, and on to the domestic flight to Indianapolis where a little old lady talked to me about basketball the whole time. Thankfully I was able to finally fall asleep for about half of the one hour flight, though I dont think the old lady noticed.

Arrived, at last, Indianapolis airport, and... there was Sarah, waiting for me! YAYY!
Words cant describe how exciting this is. YAY!!

Anyway, outside and into thick thick humidity, into the car and off for the quick one hour drive home. No sooner had we left the airport area than sirens sounding like fire stations started going off everywhere and the radio talks about Tornado warnings - apparently there was a tornado about to chase us down the highway. Thankfully it never materialised, and we were able to arrive in Bloomington in complete safety.

Its still very much a novelty to actually be here, to turn and Sarah is here rather than on the other side of the Pacific Puddle, and I am gradually getting into this timezone.
Sleep is still very much a good thing.

Thanks to everyone who has emailed me in the last few days - I will get around to replying, I promise, I havent forgotten anyone.

I'm actually here... yay....

Fifteen hours until I leave Japan.

Five hours until I leave Osaka. Not going to get much sleep tonight it seems... though hopefully this will mean I can sleep on the plane.

See you again once I'm in America.

0:15:00

In a few minutes I'll be cancelling my phone, so this is one last message sent.
24 hours til I leave...
wow

I leave Sendai in the morning.
Just dropped into uni to check my email and say bye to everyone... many people had no idea I was leaving.

Off now to meet people from the Kaikan for a farewell drink, then finish my packing tonight. Checking out at 9.30 in the morning.
Ill hopefully add another post from Osaka.

Goodbye Sendai!

Its been a while since I posted on here - sorry about that.
These last few days have been very busy, though I slept most of the weekend, getting packed and getting things ready before I leave! Tohoku of course are running around like chickens with their knickers in a knot, panicking that I will tell someone somewhere important (like, Tokyo, or ANU) anything negative about Tohoku. They want me to 'think of the students yet to come'. Apparently, they are worried that Tokyo will see them as less than perfect and therefore forbid them from ever giving out scholarships again.
Me, I'm more worried that if I don't say anything, then future students will have to go through the same hassles and bad experiences that I had to endure. So, I'm thinking of the students yet to come, but not quite in the way Tohoku imagine. (Their view hardly seems to be 'for students yet to come' but instead to make themselves come out of this as clean as possible.
They wanted reasons (actually, they wanted me to say I was sick), so I gave them three pages of reasons. A quick translation of the letter I sent to ANU, into Japanese.
The convened an emergency meeting... and the result of it was, after much teeth-sucking, to tell me that my letter was 'too long'.
They preferred I write three lines, no more.

Sigh... my two lines were: Tohoku university does not take its responsibility toward exchange students seriously. For increased detail, please see the attached letter.

This way they cant get away with NOT sending the full thing to Tokyo... he he he.. am I evil?

News is that a student from ANU has applied to come here this September. Wonder who it is... wonder if I know them.

Tomorrow I go to the bank and see about closing my account after I leave the country, and hand back my little bit of cardboard that serves as a Medicare card.
Thursday I bring stuff for the next ANU student in to uni, Friday I leave Sendai!

Five days to go!!

Single figures!!! And to think, it didnt seem that long ago that I was excited about getting to double figures...

Tohoku came up with another sob story today - they want me to either tell the scholarship people that I'm sick and have to leave, or make up some reason that I have to go to America right away, that can't be put off until next year, and ... this floored me.. come back to Japan later in the year to withdraw formally.
Apparently right now is the time of year when Tokyo is sorting out scholarship applications, and if I were to cancel mine, they are worried that this would 'reflect badly on Tohoku'. So they dont mind if I leave, but suggested (read: instructed) me to return here in September or October for a two minute talk with scholarship people to cancel it there and then.

Hah!! If they think this is at all likely they have another thing coming. Yes, it may reflect badly on Tohoku Uni, but they should have thought of that before, shouldnt they!

Im leaving Sendai in less than a week now - booked my trip to Osaka - the flight from here to Osaka, plus flying from Osaka to Tokyo was cheaper than taking the shinkansen one way! This time next week I shall be in Osaka, this time in nine days I shall be on a plane, three hours out over the Pacific.

Can't Wait!!

9

Diplomacy, or 'saving face'?

Saita sensei just came to visit - she wanted me to think about what I am going to tell the people over at the scholarship office about why I am leaving. She reckons I will have to write a letter to them explaining my 'inexplicable' reasons for even considering such an idea as actually voluntarily leaving Japan before the end of the year.
She heard my reasoning, and agreed that there was no point in staying, though I didnt go into anywhere near as much detail as I did with that big email to Hendriks. So, maybe she doesnt grasp the severity of this. Anyway, the advice I was given was to outright lie, and say either that I have become very sick and need to return home, or that some rather serious problem has developed at home, like a family member being similarly sick.
Apparently, to say something like this is desired, and I think this is because it puts all the responsibility (blame, if you will) on my leaving Tohoku squarely onto me. If I were to allow other people to hear my real reasons, this would be 'not what they want to hear', and my thoughts lead me to that this will mean that there is something on paper attesting to the fact that THEY are not perfect, and it was not 'all the gaijin's fault'... which seems to be what they want.

I think I'll go back to the burrow now and re write that letter to Hendriks into Japanese so I can be prepared properly... with everything that needs to be said!

And anyway... TEN days to go!!! 10!!! This time tomorrow it will be.... yes.... SINGLE FIGURES!!! (Yes, this excites me)

I really hope I'm not getting sick again... I've had a nasty cough since the weekend (much to Sarah's concern), and last night I began to worry that I was getting a bit high a temperature, so took a couple of whatever passes for Panadol in this country, and let myself sleep late, and haven't left my burrow all day. I will need to at least go up to Family Mart to get something for tea - unless... I'll see how hungry I get, but I might order a pizza, or something equally decadent. I did register for Pizza Hut's discount coupons on my phone, and thanks to a little creative license with the registering, they emailed me a 'birthday discount', a thousand yen off, if I order anything before my 'birthday', which, as far as Pizza Hut are concerned, is this weekend. It's very sad though - even with this discount its still going to cost me as much as three pizzas in Canberra. Oh well, I deserve a treat! Plus, it means I won't have to leave the building.
I reckon that's part of why I'm a little under the weather - I've been doing an awful lot of walking this last week since my bike went walkabout, and I'm not eating enough fruit to compensate. Do Pizza Hut offer side orders of fruit salad? Actually, looking at their menu (amazing the things you find when you clean your desk, isnt it?), they have "Corn Salad"... a bowl of corn kernels. Thats it.
Sigh.
Now, if only Family Mart had a fruit section, saving me the half an hour (each way) trip to the supermarket. Mind you, the supermarket has a habit of being very expensive...

I should start packing up the stuff in my room, I guess. My posters are already jumping off the walls in eager anticipation of leaving, and the occasional photo has done the same. I'm still undecided about luggage - Yusuke reminded me that I can get a courier to take my bags from my burrow direct to Narita airport, where I collect them and check in, but at $40 per bag, I might just send one and let the other follow me around to Osaka. Then there's the ANU stuff, which I must remember to try and find a storage place for in the Uni this week, then figure out some way of transporting it up there.

The big question remains - which pizza do I get? Potato, sticky-rice-paste, teriyaki chicken (with lettuce and mayonaisse), corn, tuna, or something a little more, shall we say, traditional?

[Edited to add, yes, the lettuce on the pizza is cooked. They put it on fresh, but then it all goes through that big pizza oven...]

11

Told the people at the international house today that I'm leaving.... they just nodded and told me to make sure I clean my stove. I guess the idea of my just picking up and leaving is pretty normal to them...
Gas bill was also due today, and last month's rent. While at it I paid the futon rent charge - never was it part of Tohoku's philosophy to include anything for free if they could charge for it - our showers are taxed, and they make us pay for the use of a futon if we dont bring our own.
Who on earth brings a FUTON when travelling overseas?

It looks like its going to be much much easier, quicker, and ... CHEAPER to fly to Osaka if I were going that way. The airfare from Sendai to Osaka, then Osaka to Narita is about the same price as the return shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka, cuts hours off the trip, and on the train I would still have to make my way from Sendai to Tokyo, then once back again Tokyo to Narita. Yeah, the Tokyo International Airport is an hour away from Tokyo...

Would indeed be nice to get down to Osaka... affording it is the tricky part.
Sigh..

Oh well... 12 days and I'm out of this country for good! Cant wait!

Ticket booked!!

When I went to the travel agent on campus on Friday, the little oompa loompa attempted to reserve a ticket, but said I would have to wait until later that day to find out whether there was an available seat or not. She rang me back at 5.30 to say, sorry, the flight was full. I left her three more options, and she said she would try another one of them, but I would have to come back on Monday to see if there was an available seat or not!

So, Monday it is, and back to the travel agent. (This is why internet booking exists... its a terrible shame that the cheapest online tickets I could find were three times the price at this travel agent). The oompa loompa says, sorry, the flight was full. She would see about the next option, and if I would be so kind as to come back tomorrow she would be able to tell me.
What sort of travel agent cannot tell you straight away whether or not there are any available seats?? Most of them will even tell you before you book!
All it took was a little squeezing. I made sure she understood that I was not leaving that seat by her desk until I was booked and confirmed on a flight going where I want. Two hours later, after asking me each and every time which airline I wanted to fly (I made the mistake of saying I would prefer, if possible, a Star Alliance or One World carrier, but as long as I could get a seat anything was fine).
Anyway, two hours down and she finds a seat for me, flying Delta (havent flown them since I was 12), 13 hours Tokyo to Atlanta, then an hour and a half to Indianapolis! Very very exciting!

I leave Japan on May 30th. That's only thirteen days away!!

Yet another lazy day, mooching around my burrow while it drizzled outside all day. It's rather frustrating killing time until Monday, because I have to wait for the travel agent to open again to finalise my ticket. They are not very efficient - it took the oompa loompa two hours to tell me that the flight I wanted to fly on was full - two hours from when I paid my deposit. At least, that deposit is transferrable to whichever flight I end up on, so that is OK.
By this time tomorrow though I should have my exact departure date, time, and location fixed (Might be Tokyo, might be Osaka) - and of course that means my exact arrival time too... I cant wait, knowing that in two weeks I will be out of here, gone from Sendai, gone from Tohoku, gone from Japan.
Japan itself isnt a bad place - I know I had fun here, so much fun that I extended my visa when I was here four years ago. And even this time around, I have had fun. Just, none of the fun times were related to Tohoku Uni. Still, I can't wait to leave, and will post details of precisely when I shall do that.

My address, too, will of course change. Anything posted to me up til know should make it to me before I leave, but I wouldnt like the chances, for anything yet to come. Here is my new address, valid immediately if anyone wanted to post us some Dairy Milk, though I shan't be living there myself until in a couple of weeks.

Stephen Harrington
3200 Longview Ave.
Apt 15
Bloomington, IN 47408
USA

This is from a reliable source (Sarah), not Uchiyama san, so it is accurate, this time, I promise!

Should be heading back to the burrow soon... getting rather hungry. Wonder what's left in the cupboard for grazing on...

15

Lazy day today. Woke up rather late after not sleeping very well last night, and with a sore throat. I was very thirsty when I got back to the burrow last night and drank a fair bit of water from the tap, though it had a slightly odd taste. Funny thing about the water here - it is not particularly refreshing, so to feel rehydrated one needs to drink a lot more water than anything else. My apple juice ran out yesterday too, so water it was. Spent the entire day reading, watching TV, and rang Sarah of course.

The view out the window wasnt that appealing either, bleak, grey, and raining on and off. I only left my burrow to go to Family Mart and replenish my phone card, and get some milk and bread. Too much effort required to go anywhere else, and I really didnt feel like it. Especially since I'm without a bike now... I locked it up at Sendai Station when I went to Tokyo this week, but when I got back again it had gone walkabout. No big loss really, though, because I dont like that particular bike, and I'm sure it doesnt like me. The chain would fall off, front and back, whenever I hit a bump in the road, and on Monday night it threw me off onto the asphalt and bruised me in two places, and gave me whiplash in the neck. I'm OK now except for a diminishing yellow splodge on my leg that hurts when I poke it (guess I should stop poking it, hey?), and my neck works properly again. So, yeah, all in all, I'm not sorry to see the bike go. One less thing for me to worry about when packing up. It was given to me anyway by someone leaving Sendai who knew it wasnt worth transporting anywhere else.

Speaking of other stuff to pack up, Eugene brought around the rest of the ANU stuff today - some more crockery, a futon and... a microwave oven! Well... at least these will be useful for the next week or two, but in two weeks I will be out of here for good! Cant wait!

15

Tohoku know I'm leaving...

Saita sensei ( lecturer, the one who picked me up from the airport ) saw me today and asked for a 'quick word'. She'd heard something to the effect that I was not taking any classes, and wanted to know what I was doing. I said that that was true, that the classes were wasting my time, and that there was no point me taking any other classes (once again she offered ones that were 'considerably difficult' - which I think was meant to result in me jumping for joy...). She was not in the least surprised when I said I was leaving, but she did seem to think it was all ANU's fault.
Oh well...
Reserved a plane ticket, too!! Very exciting, but the travel agent couldnt tell me on the spot whether there were any seats available, so I will find out on Monday if indeed I am leaving Tokyo at 2pm on the 31st of May...

So all that remains is packing up, tidying up loose ends, and getting out of here! Mombusho want me to pay for that plane ticket from Tokyo to Sendai at the start of February, which technically they are allowed to do under the terms of the scholarship, but I was hoping they had forgotten about it. Need to pay my rent and my mobile bill, cancel said mobile, and I think I'm done! Both the International House and the phone company wanted my bank account details so they could take the appropriate money from my account directly, but neither of them actually have, they both want cash payments now. Silly oompa loompas.

Eugene emailed yesterday too... he wants to deliver the 'rest' of the ANU stuff to my room on Saturday. So kind, but I am then going to have to transport it up to Uni myself. I'll see what he's got, and might ask him to drop it off at uni instead of my nest, and I can put it in a big cardboard box and leave it for the next ANU student - probably in September next year.

17

I got my visa!
Yay! So now all that needs to be done is I book a plane ticket and I'm out of here... off into the sunset, away from the Rising Sun.
Looking at tickets right now.

I was amazed how easy it was to get this visa - granted I had to travel from Tokyo and wait outside in the heat for two hours, then another hour in airconditioned comfort (ok, so that wasnt too bad at all :) ), then my interview with the consular official was three minutes, and I was approved on the spot!

Off for lunch with Chie, who worked at Wurruk and Seaspray a few years ago, then navigated the subway network to Takadanobaba (yeah, thats what its called) and wandered to Waseda Uni to meet up with Yusuke. Later, ANU students and a past exchange student or two came, along with Lorna from Canterbury. Was great to catch up with them again... even those whom I hadnt ever actually met before.

Spent that night on a futon on Yusuke's floor - was far more appealing than the couch at RAYs English Club in Saitama, though I did drop in at RAYs on my way back to Sendai. Trying to save money, I took the local train instead of the Shinkansen... I was far from in a hurry, and I saved about $70 - half the price of the shinkansen ticket! The only catch was, it stopped at EVERY station, I had to change trains twice, and finally arrived in Sendai seven hours after leaving Saitama... which was itself half an hour out of Tokyo.

Walked home, showered, then slept solid for ten hours.
Woke up this morning, checked the letter box, and my passport had been mailed back to me with a Business or Tourist class visa, for multiple entries until 2009!
Very exciting...

Photos are up in Scenery and Culture (Strange) albums.

19

It was hard getting up at 6 this morning, made all the less pleasant by pouring rain. While it would have been nice to go back to sleep, todays excursion is the most important since coming to Japan.
Fixed the chain on my wretched bicycle in the rain then set off for the shinkansen. Two hours down to Tokyo then navigating the subway to the vicinity of the American embassy where I arrived a full hour before my scheduled appointment.
You'd think that was plenty of time, wouldn't you? But no, due to "increased security measures" because some whacko said he wanted to bomb the place this week, and that getting American visas seems to be the 'in' thing to do in Tokyo this week, meant an hour and a half wait in the street and another forty five inside the gates before being probed again and permitted to enter the building... where I am allowed to sit on some nice comfy seats while waiting for my three minute interview to see if I get my visa...

Im very tired... another update tomorrow!

20

Still seems as if the Tohoku people haven't heard from ANU. I base this on having spoken to people here today and no one mentioned it to me, even Uchiyama san. I did ask him where the Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank's local branch was (and made sure I looked at the map he found, just in case he was directing me to the Osaka Toyota Bank instead), and he gave no indication that he was aware I plan to flee the country in only 22 days.

And the purpose of the bank? Had to pay my application fee for the american visa. This was accomplished very easily at the ATM, even though I dont have an account there, with no processing fees, and the ATM even gave me correct change in coins.
Why is this country so advanced in things like ATMs, yet doesn't have internet access in a university hall of residence specifically designed for international students? Why is it possible to take digital video on my mobile phone and email it around the world, but my floor is made of lino?

Found the other foreign import food shop today. Meidi ya (funnily enough, pronounced Meiji ya) got my hopes up by selling Cadbury, but dashed them again when I saw it was made in Canada. Now, I have not tried the Canadian variety of Cadbury, true, but I am very wary of it being similar to the travesty that is American-produced Cadbury. Now THAT is horrible stuff that does not deserve to be wrapped in purple. However today I was in luck, for the other place sells the good stuff. Real stuff.. made in Dunedin. Nick, I thought of you as I unwrapped this, and right now I'm tasting the first bite of Dairy Milk I've had in ... well, OK, it wasnt that long since my supply ran out, but its longer than a week. Almost.

Technical stuff: the Email button on the right has been banished, due to it being highly inconsistent. I did lose emails from that, so if you emailed me via that button in any shape or form and I didnt respond, I am very sorry. It was not my fault.
However to replace the email button, Comments are now available! If things work as I have been led to believe (and we know this is dangerous ground here), you should be able to leave comments after any posts I make. Hope it works...

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say 'I think I'll squeeze those dangly things here and drink whatever comes out'?

Early night tonight and off to Tokyo tomorrow to smile at Americans. (No, not a new hobby nor the latest craze in Japan, but to get a visa! Very exciting. Also meeting up with Chie, who stayed with Mum and Dad a couple of years ago and worked in their schools, and then in the evening catching up with the ANU crowd in Tokyo for a drink and something to eat. Should be fun... might end up sleeping on the couch at RAYs English Club too because the train back to Sendai, even the bullet train, means I would have to leave Tokyo by 9pm. Too early, though I know I'll be tired. So I might head back out to Urawa, for I know I can get there up until 1am, sleep on the couch, get a shower, catch up with the crowd down there before heading back to Sendai... might take the slower trains, its much cheaper.

22

The humidity started today.
It was fine last night, but when I woke up this morning, I could tell straight away that Japan has entered the Wet Season. People I meet here do go on at great length how Japan has four distinct seasons (and is unique in the world for this reason), but I reckon they just have two. Freezing Cold, and Melting Hot. There are a few days in between where it is neither, but I dont consider a week long enough for a true season.

Spring, if it exist here in Sendai, is the season for Cherry Blossom viewing, and Golden Week holidays. I was expecting many comments about the end of Golden Week, but not so much as a sniffle. Why is it that this country weeps at the loss of petals on a cherry tree, but the end of a weeks holiday (the longest holiday many workers ever see in their lives) passes without comment.

Going back to the burrow now to have tea, and make sure I have all the documentation filled out for my trip to the Embassy on Tuesday. Still need to get a photo, but Ill take one myself and get a printout from the digital camera rather than pay $25 to get a photo shop oompa loompa to take one.
Then the only thing left to do will be go to Tokyo, pay the application fee at the Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank, and smile nicely at the embassy.

23

For the past couple of hours while I've been sitting here in the kenkyushitsu playing on the internet, Uchiyama san has been talking to one of the students, fulfilling his job as a 'helper'.
The student has been asking questions about some of the work she has been doing, and theyve just spent about an hour with him telling her how to lay out a particular set of data in a tabular format. She intends to carry out a survey, and he has been explaining the importance of asking appropriate questions, and giving examples. Uchiyama san is trying to get this poor girl to think for herself, but every time he asks her a question, the poor girl fumbles in her seat until he gives up and spoon feeds her the answers.
If every student in here needs this level of hand holding for every assignment they write, it is a wonder anyone gets anything done. Two aspects of Japanese culture are suddenly very clear.
The first, why on earth you would employ someone to sit around in the room in polar fleeces all the time to be a 'helper' to the students. Well, obviously the students need it. Do other uni's spoon feed their students this much, or is it just Tohoku? (Makes me laugh - Tohoku is supposedly one of the best universities in Japan)
The second... when students finish something, or move on, or graduate (as seen last month), everyone makes such a big deal out of thanking the 'helper' profusely. Not just 'thanks', but almost to the point of prostrating themselves on the floor type of gratitude, and various presents of food. The reason for this is suddenly clear to me - the students actually need so much help, that without the helper, no one would ever be able to progress past first year. They are thanking him so much, because he is the entire reason they were able to graduate in the first place.
During a brief moment of silence in the room, Mum rang, causing my mobile to belt out Donald Duck's quacking at full volume. Oh, how that surprised everyone! Does this count as breaking the 'wa'?

Heard back from Hendriks today, too. He seemed keen to actually use my experience to improve the situation here for future exchange students. Shame, really, that nothing they (ANU or Tohoku) can do now will convince me to stay.

26

Grr.. half a post written when the computer died.

Thomas rang last night from Canberra - rather out of the blue. Great to hear from him - havent actually seen him since that night last year when I thought he was in Japan and he wandered into my room at Ursies. Reminisced for a while about ANU, Kabuki, and Mr Shimada, the funny little bloke with bad breath from RAY English Club in Saitama.

This evening I went to the civic auditorium for the Magic Festival in Sendai... or, Majikku Fesuchibaru inu Sendai. I'd seen plenty of posters around the city for a couple of weeks advertising this, so off I went. It was a fantastic show! Amateur, yes, but they were all very GOOD amateurs.
Juggling played a part, of course, and some fellow who was very good with those spinning things on the string, I'm not sure what theyre called, but he was good. There was a very good routine of the Chinese Rings, mainly done with three rings. The times I did it I always used the full set of seven - an abbreviated routine worked very well.
The fellow who started the show did the disappearing/appearing balls routine, and though he did very well you could see his hands shaking with nervousness. Not surprising, given that he was performing to over three hundred people. Im glad I got there in plenty of time, otherwise it would have been difficult to get a seat. Only $5 to get in, so that was good.
Photos and even some short movies are on their way up in the photo gallery, but the computer is misbehaving today so I'll get them up later.

I've discovered this week the joys of the ABC's Radio Australia. Listening to Australian accents and familiar noises from home is very comforting, and I no longer stop and say 'wow' at the ABC news music. Sunday I listened to Australia All Over - the whole program, which I dont think Ive ever done, by never being up in time, but thanks to the joys of the internet and radio-on-demand I was able to have a dose of Macca on a Sunday.... Arvo?. Right now Ive got Tony Delroy's The Challenge quiz on, and I'm doing rather well, even if I do say so myself.
If youve got a fast internet connection, have a listen at www.abc.net.au/ra.

Its been brought to my attention that some of the emails sent to me using that button on the right of this page have not been getting through to me! This is very sad, and I want to assure people that if I didnt respond, it was because I didnt get your email! I promise I havent been ignoring anyone!!

I sent an email to ANU today to let them know what is really going on here. When exchange students come to ANU they are treated very well, recognised as human beings, and assisted to find accommodation that does not break the bank. Oh, yes, and they are given credit for subjects taken. I think ANU should know that Tohoku does not reciprocate these basic kindnesses.

Also, for some reason my Engrish photo album has been in hiding recently - it is still there but for some reason you couldn't get to it from the normal photo index page. If you had been choosing it from the 'Other Albums' menu below anything else, then it would have worked, but Ive put the old links back in underneath on this page, so you can jump straight to it.

What should I have for lunch? I might go exploring the city soon and see if I can find something nice, but not too expensive.

28

There is a very good reason NOT to travel anywhere during Golden Week.
The news on TV last night was showing Tokyo's two airports - both so full of people that you couldnt see the floor. Almost every flight leaving was completely full. Bullet trains, the empty ones were about 110% full, the crowded ones were around 165% full. No chance of a seat, really.
The freeways were crowded too... they had helicopters looking down, and traffic was just standing still. The entire country was covered with traffic jams- the short ones being 20 kilometres long, the longer ones up to 35.

And people wonder why I'm spending the week in my burrow?

30

I am very excited.. today was the first time I can remember recently where I went to sleep while it was dark outside, and woke up and it was already past sunrise! Yes... I slept at normal hours! Even more exciting was I was asleep before 11pm! Watched the Blues Brothers on TV, then rolled over and was fast asleep by 10.30 at the latest.. not to stir until almost 6am. (Ok, I need to work on the sleeping til a reasonable hour thing, but Im getting better).
My excursion for the day was to find the Immigration office and get a re entry permit in my passport. This is not necessarily for re entry to Japan (shudder), but to be an extra bit of proof when talking to the American embassy in 11 days time that I do intend to leave America.
I had a rough idea of where to go (OK, I knew it was on the other side of the station, thats it), so onto the bike and off I tootled. I was rather amazed at the amount of greenery I could see today - spring has sprung, and the cherry blossoms are all gone, replaced by actual leaves on just about every plant. I took some photos which are up in the Scenery album.
It took me about an hour of searching when I finally decided to stop and ask - just knowing which side of the railway station is not sufficient direction finding... at least not this time.
I called in at a little police box and recieved very clear and simple directions: "See that petrol station? Turn left there, its about a hundred metres down the road. Cant miss it."
Wow.
Walked out of the police box, was almost tempted to drive there, because the resident police car (big heavy Toyota Crown) was sitting there, door open, key in the ignition, engine running, and no other humans in sight. I decided to leave it where it was and take my bike, because the flashing red lights on the roof do tend to stand out...
Immigration closes for lunch at 12. It was five past. Oh well... headed back across the tracks to Sendai and lunched in a little curry place waiting for them to open again. I was very impressed by the speed taken to grant me re entry permission... I only had to wait 25 minutes. Mr Lee in the Japanese consulate in Melbourne could learn a lot from these people.
Back in to uni to check my email and update the Wombat - as I sit down at the computer I notice the backs of my hands are slightly pink... yes, I got myself sunburned! Nothing much, just a pinkish tinge to my hands and arms... and nose... and the back of my neck, too.. Oh well... at least it's warming up... its nearly seven in the evening and still 20 degrees.
Mmm

21

Today is 'Green Day', the first public holiday in the series known as Golden Week. Used to be the old emperor's birthday, but he carked it a while back and the new bloke has a different birthday (of course), but the people didnt want to give up this holiday... Ol' Hiro liked trees and stuff, so they re-named the day Green Day and kept it a holiday.
I can see why Japanese people get so excited about Golden Week... for the most part, the idea of having TWO days off in a row is a rare luxury, though people who work in offices often get Saturdays AND Sundays off every week. Wow.
Ask any Japanese in the work force here how many days off per year he gets... but remember to mentally deduct 52 from that number because each and every Sunday is counted... sometimes take off another 52 if he's lucky enough to get Saturdays off too.
Anyway, Golden Week is such a big deal because most people (except shops) get today off where they can sit around and be Green, then next week they get the 3rd off for Constitution Memorial Day (why on earth they devote a public holiday to remembering that America wrote their constitution for them, I dont know), the 5th is Childrens Day where people fly big carp from flagpoles. Yes, thats right, carp. I'll try and get a picture.
The 4th was declared 'Citizen's Holiday' too, in an unchacteristic display of logic by the government, so people can have a long run of holidays together instead of having to go back to work in the middle for a day... now all they need is to declare April 30th a holiday too, so people can actually have a week off instead of a day off, a day at work, the weekend, then three more days holiday.
Still, its a long break indeed for workers here, and many many people are in the habit of taking a sickie on the 30th and really letting their chopsticks down.

22
(The new Emperors Birthday holiday is the 23rd of December, which is close enough to Christmas but the 25th is not a holiday...)

I went to the Grammar class today that Tohoku determined was 'best suited to my abilities'.
It was, as I suspected, a complete waste of time, though I can find some comfort in the fact that it was not any different to most of the last three months anyway.
The teacher talked down to everyone as though we were five years old. She kept repeating herself over and over again using simpler words each time, along the lines of
"I think apples would be better suited to my dessert this evening than pears would.
I want apples for dessert, not pears.
Apple Good, Pear Bad.
Me Hungry.
Food."
Oh, and she spent a full hour of the 90-minute class explaining what the word 'with' means.
I will not be missing anything by leaving here.

Good news: scheduled an appointment with the embassy to get a visa that lasts longer than 90 days! I'll let you know further developments!

23 (hopefully)

The kitchen in the kenkyushitsu is better equipped than the one for everyday use in my burrow! Its mainly the same, two gas burners, hot water unit, sink, but the one here in the uni has a microwave, AND a toaster oven as well.... maybe I should come here to try making a pie again...

The search for escaping Japan is looking promising. Ive found a flying school in Bloomington who are more than happy to help me through the paperwork for getting a visa to America, though we arent sure how they get their paws on a form I-20M. Anyone been down this road and could help me out, I'd be much appreciative. If I cant get the student visa, then I can still go flying on a tourist visa, but wont technically be able to get any endorsements added... though this is not necessarily a bad thing, because I will need to be checked out on everything once I get back to Australia to satisfy CASA anyway...
My other option is a 6 month tourist visa - need to apply for that one, make a trip to the embassy anyway, because just turning up at the airport means I could only stay for three months... and from today that would limit me to the end of July... when I have to stay at least until early September...
Seems pretty straightforward to get any visa issued though... Im not a terrorist, after all.
Cant wait...

41?

Last night was the TUFSA (Tohoku University Foreign Students Association!) Welcome Party for 2004.
Pictures are up in the Culture album, so have a squizz. Apparently about three hundred people were there, which was interesting considering they budgeted enough food to feed one hundred, and then crammed as many people as possible into the one little room for food. See the vultures feeding photo. People here were in two categories: those who were standing right next to the food tables, who never moved, piled their plates high and shovelled food into their mouths non stop, or people like me, who were actively blocked from reaching the food until there was nothing left. I ate two leaves of lettuce.
Everyone then decided it was a good idea to stand in the foyer, and avoid the dance floor on the lower level. Why, I'm not entirely sure, but they did.
I went with the intention of trying to meet new people and have a good time, but the only person I met was an elderly chinese woman with broken Japanese who insisted on conversing with me, though I'm not entirely sure what she was trying to say. She was weird, so I left. I was hungry, too, after being promised free food, seeing copious quantities of pizza disappear down about three people's mouths, being promised fun and exciting people, having strange chinese women babble at me, and being promised good music and hearing Kylie Minogue, I decided to go back to the burrow and make some real food to eat.
Sigh.
I was also too excited about the possibilities of actually escaping to care much about learning Chinese.

Its Anzac Day!
I was planning to have bought a little taster oven by now so I could try my hand at making Anzac biscuits... I guess if Im here for much longer I might, but I really am just counting down the days...
Excellent idea of the week has been to escape Japan and go do some flying training in America - I'm just waiting on hearing back from a couple of flight schools, and of course the Embassy.

Things are definitely looking up! Yay!

Ugh, what a day. I have lost count of how many times I've gone between feeling extremely happy and extremely depressed today.
I guess it doesnt help that I've seen sunrise every day for over a week. Yesterday was some sort of party run by the kenkyushitsu, where everyone connected with it shows up, eat, drink, be merry, chat, and some people give some speeches. I tuned out for those, so I dont really know what they were talking about. I dont know. I headed off down to the city at about 6pm, but on the way something strange happened to my bike, the reflector from in between the spokes of the front wheel flew off and the pedal hit me pretty hard in the ankle.
We were in a restaurant that I think was supposed to be Thai, though the stuff that was served was pretty generic - a salad, some fried squid, some fried something-that-I-really-hope-was-chicken, and thick pretzel sticks in cream cheese. This wasnt so bad, though I reckon for $30 I should have come away feeling absolutely full, not slightly peckish.
More fun was definitely had at the second gathering of the night- after two hours in the Thai place we moved down the road to a Karaoke spot. Photos are up.
The best part about karaoke (other than the music) is that you are not expected to be a good singer - if anything, you are expected to sound like a dying dugong, and anything better than that is praised. I used to go to karaoke a lot when I was in Japan four years ago, and for a few moments last night, with familiar japanese songs on the karaoke machine, watching the coloured swipe mark your place in the lyrics, it really felt like it was back in 2000, having fun, totally enjoying myself. The night wound down, eventually, and I went back to my burrow.
Normally, I just cant sleep when I go to bed. I've never been able to fall asleep straight away (as in, within ten minutes) after getting into bed, never. Usually it used to take me about an hour or two, but lately its been taking longer and longer, which results in my sleeping in later and later, a vicious circle that has seen me be still awake at sunrise every day since the start of April.
Its when I'm just lying in bed, trying to sleep, that its the hardest part of the day. I think about what positive experiences I am gaining by being in Japan (none), I think about the great asset this is becoming for my future (its not), but most of all I think about Sarah, friends and family. The nights are always hard, and not a day goes by when I dont, at least at some point, wish I wasn't here.
Last night was just a particularly hard night, compounded by simply not being able to sleep at all. After exhausting my phone card talking to Sarah I emailed back and forth from my phone, stuck a movie on, when that finished, stuck another movie on, but just had no luck in trying to fall asleep.
Its not that Im not tired- I just cant fall asleep.
My ankle was still sore from where my bike attacked me, and the cup of water I had beside my bed so I wouldnt dehydrate, I left too close to the side of the bed and my futon knocked it over, then proceeded to soak up a whole cupful of water into the corner of my futon. I didnt realise this until I had pulled the futon up and it lay on the bed for a bit, the water then soaking into the bottom futon too.. I just changed ends of the bed and avoided the wet patch.
Through the night I must have gone from very very happy (once, at karaoke), to about as low as I've been in Japan, in tears and just wanting to leave (three or four times) to passably OK and thinking it is dealable (three or four times).
When it passed 7am, I decided enough was enough, got up, had breakfast, and came in to uni, where I've been ever since...
I did go to the uni travel agent, and am on the point of booking a flight to America, too, so that had me back feeling very very very happy again... though now Im just tired. Should go back to the burrow and try to sleep soon...
I am very tired... hopefully tonight I will sleep quickly...

76 <- probably less