Settling (Finally)

Sorry for the lack of info, not much to report on the Law & Order marathons. I'm wearing a nice little rut into my parents' sofa. I spent last week down in Columbus though and finally secured both employment for myself and an apartment for us. We'll be returning to our old neighborhood and living about four blocks from our previous apartment. I'll be working at McGraw-Hill text books and Colleen will be returning to her previous job at the Godman Guild. She flys back on July 27th and we both start working a few weeks after that. August should be great, but until then I'm pretty much in limbo up in Ashtabula.

Last Days

It's been a whirlwind here the past few days. Crazy enough to keep me on my toes and keep me from getting to nostalgic or weepy. Saturday we went to Osaka where we hit several neighborhoods on our own and met up with Iwa High School staff for an amazing goodbye dinner. It was one of the best carefree days I've ever had. That's us color coordinating with a giant ferris wheel up there, by the way.

Sunday turned out to be the complete opposite with almost every stupid thing that could possibly go wrong doing so. Just lots of small foolish things on our part which culminated in Colleen reversing the car into a steel pole and shattering its back window. We walked away fine and the car only had a small dent and the loss of a lot of glass to show for it, but it really topped off one the most downright crappy days I've ever had.

Yesterday I spent most of the morning fretting about the weight of my luggage which teetering right around the 70 lb. 'must be counted as cargo' point. (I know I'm paying a heavy baggage fee, but we really can't afford the cargo shipment fee.) Then my afternoon was spent tendign to car repair. Or lack thereof. We decided the car is officially scrap metal after we leave so Colleen will just be driving around with a sheet of plastic in the back for the next couple weeks. A 1998 Daihatsu is the equivalent of a 1973 Ford Pinto in a country where people buy a new car at least once every two years, so this really just dots the "i" on that point.

After that, we went to a final BBQ dinner at Albero. Good time all around: mellow, not too sentimental, good food. And tonight I'm going to a final dinner with my English Conversation class. At least the quality of my meals has been consistent the past few days. Nothing else has.

Sumo Snacks

Almost as cute as the real potbellies. Undoubedly more delicious.

Culture

This year Colleen's school moved its Culture Day from Fall to Summer so we got to experience a third dose of culture via teen eyes. Colleen & "five pretty girls" (actual program description) made chocolate pudding that was a smashing success. I helped out a little, but mostly only in the providing jokes department.

"Are all Americans handsome?"
"No. Only me."

That one literally had the girl on the floor. I didn't even think it was that funny. I wasn't the only one making bad jokes though. Two teachers did a stand-up routine that had the kids laughing both with and at them. There was a band, some intense hip-hop (complete with English swearing - and i mean a lot of it - that apparently none of the higher-ups recognized) and the usual Culture items: model castle made of beer cans, giant Ultraman diorama.

The highlight for me had to be when one of the girls introduced herself as Kumi Shiflet, saying it was her real Japanese name. I was so shocked I didn't know how to respond. One half of my brain knew that was completely impossible, but she nailed the pronunciation so perfectly (not a Japanized Shi-fu-re-to) I almost believed her. Apparently the joke had been worked out the night before while making pudding. They really got me. I wish I could have seen the look on my face.


Putting the cream on the pudding, strawberries to follow


Mosaic of Japanese boxing celeb (and fraudulent champ) Koki Kameda


Just like "8 Mile"

Oh, Cleveland Sports

Watching the Cavs lose quite miserably this week didn't stir up quite the reaction I thought it would. Coming home to so many things that have changed over the past two years, it's comforting to know some things will always be the same. Returning to an NBA title in Cleveland would be on par with walking directly in to the Twilight Zone, inducing a level of reverse culture shock the likes of which have never been seen. Crisis averted.