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smilesinjapanAdd it.
Just posted an intro to the trip. It's really long. Get ready for lots more like it. Booyah.
& of course there's all the other 4000 JETs from around the world who'll be around, so you know, it's not like I'll be starved for English conversation. The first thing I did this morning was get on Facebook & find a Shizuoka JET group, so I already know of 2 people who'll be in the 2 cities (towns? I'm not even sure what to call them, really) closest to me. Reading through the message boards & seeing all the info that recontracting / leaving JETs have to share is making me more & more excited.
I can't believe I only have a month left!
& I need a favor from someone in the Pasadena area. Can someone send me some postcards of Pasadena / Los Angeles / Hollywood? I will definitely reimburse you. I'm thinking maybe one of Dena's City Hall, one of the Rose Bowl, a couple of Hollywood, & one of the LA skyline. & anything else that catches your eye. Like the total idiot I am I completely failed to buy any while I was actually IN Dena a couple weeks ago, so yeeeeeah. Lemme know if you can & I'll love you forever & send you special presents from Japan. ;)
For today I'm off to buy some generic US souvenirs -- the kind of kitschy stuff that I usually hate but will go over so well overseas.
- Mood:
excited
I have one base school, a high school, so I'll be spending the vast majority of my time there. More than likely I'll make a few visits a year to a few other schools, possibly including other high schools or middle schools, maybe a special education school, & maybe an elementary school. Most likely it'll be mostly high schools, though.
I'm getting my predecessor's old digs, which is teachers' housing. I don't know if it's a stand-alone house or a duplex or what, but the info he sent me says it's 2 stories, with 2 bedrooms, & he's leaving a good portion of his furniture to me. On top of that, he's taking over the position of Prefectural Advisor -- basically the liaison between JETs (which is to say, JET participants, ie me) & the prefecture's board of education (which is our contracting organization, or, essentially, employer), so if I hit snags or have issues he'll be a shout away.
The city I'm in isn't far from Shizuoka City, the capital of Shizuoka Prefecture, which is pretty sweet, because Shizuoka City's pretty big & I expect I'll be able to get just about all the comforts of home there, with the possible exception of Mexican food.
Oh, did I mention my rent's about $200/mo? Booyah.
- Mood: excited
Wednesday Mom & Dave spent all day cooking so everyone going to Kelly's graduation ceremony could eat beforehand, but then everyone was late & we ended up rushing so much that Dave didn't even get to eat till afterwards. We all proudly watched Kelly walk across the stage... & sat through watching the other 544 students walk. I yelled "Go Bears!" when they announced that 3 of the valedictorians are going to Cal next year. I'm wonderfully geeky like that.
Yesterday Dave flew back to FL at noon. After dropping him at the airport I did some shopping, then hung out at my mom's office for a bit, & we came home & had dinner, & then I went out with Nicole & Charlotte & Nicole for coffee & then drinks. So amazingly fabulous to have a girls' night & talk about everything from sex to school to drinks to friends to sex. Also did I mention that we talked about sex? It's been entirely too long since I've had a good sex conversation. Great company & great conversation made for an AWESOME night.
Today was the beach with my dad & Schneider & Ambria & her neighbor Dennis. Before heading down there we stopped at this health food store / cafe in Pasadena where I ran into this kid I knew back in elementary school, Cody. Totally weird & awesome. Laguna was cold but hanging out was great, & we had delicious tacos & then I passed out on the drive back to Dena, where I'm now sitting on my sister's bed as we both play on our computers.
Plans for the weekend: Drinks with mom & her friends in Sierra Madre tonight. Tomorrow will be hanging out with whoever's in town, & Sunday will be wine tasting in Santa Ynez with mom & Miwa & then dinner with dad & Kelly. Monday fly back to Tampa at noon, get there at midnight, & then back to work on Tuesday.
Then to JAPAN on August 1st!!! Ahhhhh!
I'll save you all too many of the details (can I ever really be succinct?), but in sum, here's what my last week has been. San Francisco first!
Thursday our flight was canceled because of weather in Dallas, so we were rebooked on a later flight through Miami & instead of arriving in SF at noon we got there at midnight. Angeline & Josh were super sweet to pick us up in a Jetta with ZipCar. Love it! Stayed with them the whole time we were up there <3
Friday morning we hung out in Oakland by the farmer's market with Eugenia; she took our engagement photos in this great apartment building where the manager kept showing us other neat areas. In the afternoon we had ramen & took purikura in Japantown with Panda & Brett & Vivian. Vivian's now IN Tokyo doing an internship at the Embassy! Way awesome! Dinner at a Korean restaurant with Angeline & Josh.
Saturday was wine tasting with Angeline, Tess, & Eugenia. We did a "wine basics class" at Goosecross Cellars which wasn't that great, then headed to Rutherford Hill Winery to maybe grab a bottle of wine to drink with our amazing picnic lunch (meat, cheese, bread, & fruit) & ended up LOVING the wine there. Got a bottle for lunch & a bottle to take home. Then to Melanie's baby shower in Oakland where it was great to see all the BD&C folks again. Finally, dinner in North Beach with Tess & Joanne & Ross & Angeline & Josh. Utter & complete exhaustion.
Sunday we had dim sum with Josh's friends & then walked to Ghirardelli Square & Fort Mason & had a fabulous day wandering the City. Angeline & I did some shopping in Union Square, & then dinner at Suppenkuche where due to a kitchen mixup we ended up getting Josh's food & 1 round of beers comped. Hell yes. Effing delicious food & beer. Love it so much. Finally, karaoke in Japantown where Dave ACTUALLY sang.
Monday we had brunch at La Note, then visited BD&C where I was wowed by the changes (major yay for the front desk facing the front now, & having a chart room), & visited Faheema at the Art Studio. Back to the City for dinner with Sabira (yay for finally meeting her!) & Angeline & Josh.
Tuesday off to the airport to head back to LA! Next post for easy (easier, anyway...) reading :)
Wednesday: Move all my stuff into my cube in the morning then spend a good part of the morning talking to people & enjoying my new access to email & the office instant messenger. Then, just before noon, I get a call....
from the Japanese consulate in Miami. I GOT IN TO THE JET PROGRAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is an absolute MIRACLE; I had totally written it off & it was just a distant hope in my mind & I was basically already planning to apply again next year. So I'm totally jazzed & thrilled & there just aren't WORDS! I don't know yet where I'll be placed or what grade I'll be teaching but it doesn't matter. I'm moving to Japan in TWO MONTHS!!
Thursday: Leave work at 3 for the courthouse downtown... & get MARRIED!!!!!!! We were planning to do it in a few weeks anyway, when the ring is ready, but what with GETTING INTO JET we couldn't really afford to wait because I need to get all the paperwork done stat. The most time-sensitive thing is the passport: If I want to change my name before going to Japan then I need to do it all the way, including changing it in my passport, which takes 3 weeks even with the expedited processing. That night we went out to dinner with Dave's parents.
Friday: Leave work at 9 because I can't focus on work & all I want to do is change my name & smooth things over with my mom & call everyone I know! Run around town: Social security (easy peasy), DMV (can't get a new one yet because social security takes 24hrs to change my name), bank (can't change my name because I don't have a new license yet), tailor. Call all my credit cards & student loans to change my name & mailing address (as of yesterday everything was still going to my mom's house). Freak out every so often because OMFG I'm going to Japan and I'm MARRIED!!
Today: Get up at 7 to go boating with Carly & Jeremy. The water was too choppy on the Gulf so we decided to go out tomorrow if the weather's better, & spent the rest of the day hanging out with them out in Clearwater. Had lunch, went swimming in their pool, & generally enjoyed their company.
I'm still in shock & on cloud 9 & wtf I'M GOING TO JAPAN WITH MY HUSBAND!!!
Ladies & gents, may I introduce to you Mr. & Mrs. David Little:
- Mood: ecstatic
Friday night he flew in at about 8:30, & from the airport we went straight to Datz Deli, a place my friend Matt (from OSI)had recommended. We had delicious beer & delicious food & I absolutely fell in love with the place. When we finished eating around 11, we met up with Matt at the Dubliner, a bar in South Tampa, for more beers & general hanging out. Headed back home around 3. (I NEVER stay up that late...)
Saturday (yesterday) I got up at 10; ridiculously early considering when I went to sleep. Dave's mom had bought us donuts, so we had a deliciously unhealthy breakfast, & then went up to Temple Terrace to canoe 4.5 miles down the Hillsborough River. Mostly I just took photos & looked at the lush scenery & the wildlife while the boys rowed, which was awesome. We got about 6 feet (maybe even closer) from a 5 or 6 foot long alligator sunning on a log. So cool.
We had dinner at Carmine's in Ybor City & I think Gabe enjoyed the Devil Crab, Cuban toast, black beans & yellow rice, & mojito (the goal being, of course, to expose him to Cuban food). When we got there it was sunny, & halfway through dinner we looked up & it was POURING cats & dogs, so in my distracted state (you all know how excited I get about rain) I forgot my to-go box of food there. Oh well.
We'd planned to go out that night but I wasn't feeling too well. I decided to try to walk it off but when we got to Channelside I just felt utterly horrible. We paid our cover charge for Howl at the Moon & I think I would've loved the dueling / duetting pianos if I wasn't so miserable, so we left after like 15 minutes & came home to play Power Grid (this awesome board game) & then pinball on the old pinball machine Dave's dad got at a yard sale. I went to bed around 230.
Today we went to the beach. We stopped at Datz to get coffee & lunch: for Dave, a sandwich; for me & Gabe, a baguette, brie, & smoked salmon. Then down to Fort DeSoto Park (apparently one of Florida's best beaches) where we swam & lay in the sun for a few hours & ate our delicious food & drank our delicious cocktail which I'd made at home & brought in a bottle (I don't have a name for it: light rum, lemon juice, triple sec, & simple syrup). Just before the rain hit, we headed home (drove thru the rain on the way back, which I always love), Gabe took a flash shower, we stopped at Pho Quyen to get him dinner, & dropped him off at the airport.
Now I'm going to go to sleep ON TIME for the first time in 2 days... I can assure you, it feels like it's been longer than that.
promise that it'll work. If it doesn't, I'll fix it in a couple of hours.
I found this article really amusing, especially this line:
“People in Mexico ate some pork and got sick, right?” said Ms. Tran, who was looking for selections in the beef case. (That is not what happened, as far as anyone knows.)
In other words, you're an idiot. Love it.
( Article. )
update from work during my breaks, & thanks to my phone's
slow-but-functional browser, I can check it, too (though it's really writing
that's more of a pain to do at home, somehow). For some reason, this makes
me very happy.
I had a fabulous weekend. Friday after I got home from work I fell into a
letter-writing mood, so Saturday morning 4 letters went out the door -- 2
domestic, & 2 international. I really need to do that more often. Want me to
send you a letter or postcard next time I'm in the mood? Email me your
mailing address - seraphene at livejournal dot com. (I can't promise it'll
happen anytime soon, though... I'm nothing if inconsistent.)
Saturday was our 6 year anniversary, so Friday night I smuggled Dave's
first-generation DS out of the house on the pretext of going to Walgreens
for nail polish remover (which I really did need) & then to pick up dinner.
I had exactly the right amount of time to stop at GameStop & trade his DS in
for a pretty blue DSi, & when I got home I wrapped it & hid it. Amazingly he
didn't realize his DS was missing, so when I presented him with his
anniversary gift the next morning & he turned it over, I was delighted to
see a look of surprise on his face when he said "Is this a DSi?! You're so
bad!" I'm pretty proud of myself for managing to pull it off. :)
(Have I mentioned that I traded in my beautiful foamy Japanese DS Lite for a
blue DSi? Well, I did, last week (or maybe the week before?). & I love it.)
After exchanging gifts (for me, another Get Fuzzy anthology -- YAY! & a copy
of Watership Down), we went back to the Jewelry Exchange, where we've been
twice in the past 2 weeks to look at a ring set that I just fell in love
with... & he bought it for me! I'll post a picture tonight (if I can
remember) It's really beautiful. Now I just need to get a ruby for it -- I
love my current ring but the color of the ruby isn't as dark as I thought it
was when we bought it (the lights in the store displays can throw things
off... & I didn't realize that the color could vary that much in lab-created
stones), so I'd like to make the wedding set perfect & get one that's a real
ruby-red color.
Then we hung out at home for a couple of hours, & then went to see Star Trek
with Nelson. I loved it! I hope they continue with this storyline & make
more movies. After that, to a delicious suhi dinner at Yoko's, & then home
to snuggle to sleep.
Yesterday I spent most of the day cleaning. Gabe's coming to visit this
weekend, so I need to clear all of my clothes off of the bed in the guest
room, & took the opportunity to clean up some other stuff that I've been
putting off, too. I didn't finish, but I have till Friday (so Thurs. nite)
to get everything done, & I think I can manage. I'm proud of myself for
completing what I did, in any case.
So today it's back to work & then this weekend I'll be hanging out with a
friend from California for the first time in over 8 months! I can't believe
it's been so long already... I can't wait!
So here I am.
annnnnnnnd yes.
First time using Flickr uploads directly to LJ, so forgive me if this looks awful. (Also, it's a cell phone picture, so it's bound to look awful anyway...)
Saturday morning I got my hair cut & after that we went to the Dragon Boat Races & Asia Fest in downtown Tampa. It was a lot of fun -- it really reminded me of a real Japanese matsuri (festival); there was an event or 2 (the boat races; & some Asia Pacifican (Pacific Asian? Asian Pacific? how the hell do you conjugate that?) cultural demonstrations -- dance, kung fu, beauty contests, singing, etc), & a bunch of food, game, & info stalls.
After we'd had enough sun we came home & lay in the hammock that Dave's dad & his friend Randy put up in the backyard on Friday. It was hot out, but in the shade with a nice wind blowing, not too hot.
Yesterday we had dim sum for brunch & then came home & lay in the hammock some more. After looking at the Sunday ads I decided to do some shopping -- for leave-in conditioner so I can try to do my hair a little bit like Angie does at the salon.... & to trade in my beloved DS Lite (that I bought in Japan! & was a color that's not available here!) for a pretty blue DSi! & I LOVE it!
Anyway, off to work.
& he wants to put me on the OSI payroll starting on Monday!
squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
So I don't know exactly how this will change things -- I'll have a team lead instead of just going to Brian with all my questions/concerns (& THEN to Jaclyn or Becky (the team leads) if he's not there), but I don't know who; I don't know if I'll stay in the conference room with the other temps or if I'll get a cubicle; I don't know if I'll be getting the same pay or an increase.
Right now I get my wage, & then OSI pays TempWise something on top of that, so I'm sort of hoping that they'll raise my wage to whatever the total is that they give to TW. But I kinda doubt that, so we'll see what happens. & I rather doubt that I'll be getting my own cubicle, cause they just hired a new temp & rather than moving me to a cube & putting her in my spot in the conference room (which to me would be logical since they're moving me to their payroll), they put her in a cubicle.
So yeah. We'll see. I was going to talk to Matt about it today but I couldn't catch him when he wasn't busy, so hopefully I can talk to him tomorrow. But yay! Health insurance & 50% off at all OSI restaurants, here I come!
In case you were wondering, the OSI restaurants are:
Outback Steakhouse
Carrabba's Italian Grill
Fleming's Steakhouse
Roy's Hawaiian Fusion
Bonefish Grill
Cheeseburger in Paradise (pretty much only East Coast, & there isn't one anywhere near Tampa)
Blue Coral (only in Newport Beach, CA)
- Mood: excited
2. Pesto is delicious. We made it last night with the basil I bought 2 weeks ago (after pulling out the wilted leaves) & had it for dinner tonight, with broiled herb-seasoned zucchini & yellow squash & grilled Italian sausage. Yum. Paired with Asahi, it was a fantastic dinner.
3. I think I found a wedding ring set that I like. My ( current ring ) has a shape that, barring something custom-made, just doesn't fit any wedding bands out there -- not even the notched ones. There are a couple of inset-type ones that I looked at that worked... but they were ultimately overpowering & I just didn't like them. I didn't take a photo of the one I saw at the Jewelry Exchange yesterday, but I'm gonna go back later this week & take another look. It's more sparkly (read: more diamonds) than what I originally wanted, but Dave said it's okay & I really do like it. I'd move the ruby over to the new ring if I get it.
I'm also considering just getting a solitaire-set ring (& moving the ruby over) & a plain wedding band to go with that. Haven't decided yet.
4. After wanting to go out for cocktails for MONTHS, we finally went out with Ethan & Andi on Friday. Yay alcohol & friends!
5. More alcohol, this time with live music! Dave's dad has been going to the same hair stylist for something like 20 years, & apparently Mr. Danny George is in a band. Last night we went to see them play at the Green Iguana, & dad treated us to dinner (grouper sandwiches) & drinks (mojitos for me, yay!), & the music was great.
6. BIG NEWS AT WORK.
- Mood: content
I've been trying to lose some weight -- going to the gym, doing some exercises at home, taking the dog for a walk, &, most importantly, cutting down on food intake. Cutting back on my portion sizes, trying very hard to incorporate more fruits & veggies into my daily diet, eating smaller snack/meals relatively often.
& I feel like it's paying off.
But more than that, I watched myself do a set of squats in the mirror, naked. & while I'm generally annoyed with how it looks when I do them in my workout clothes, watching the way that my muscles tightened as I performed the exercise, I realized that I am actually in pretty good shape (yes, it could be better, but I'm certainly not in the worst shape I've ever been).
And I realized that I am beautiful.
- Mood: satisfied
I caught a greenback -- my first catch ever! Super exciting even if I had to throw him back. (Well, I guess we could've used it for bait, but -- ironically -- it felt cruel to me.) I hooked 2 mackerel but didn't manage to get them all the way up; the first one I don't think I yanked the rod hard enough to really hook it (I guess that's called a strike?), & the second one was going well, but Dave saw it flop off of my line, so oh well.
We're going back next week to give it another try... assuming Dave & I have recovered from our burns.
Some photos!
( Something kinda fishy beyond here... )
(Note that photos are not edited to the best of my ability, just cleaned up a tiny bit to get them posted ASAP cause I want to get in the habit of posting photos more regularly.)
( More cute baby photos behind the cut! )
Slightly cat-eye, but not too retro, & not too overpowering for my face, methinks. With anti-reflective coating so I don't have to deal with glare when driving at night or walking around in well-lit stores. (Sorry bout the pjs. With my sunburn from fishing I'm disinclined to stay in clothes that look decent but scratch like mad.)
& prescription sunglasses! Finally, I can drive during the daytime & be able to see street signs well in advance!
(Honestly, my prescription's not that strong (-1.00 in one eye, -0.75 in the other) so I can *see* without my glasses when driving, but signs are a bit blurry. I don't need them at all inside the house.)
( Couple more shots for fun. )
My itinerary:
Thursday, June 11
9:15a TPA - DFW 10:54a, 12:00p DFW - SFO 1:34p
Spend some time at Angeline's in SF & hang out with Berkeley & other Bay Area folks, do some wine tasting, do some bar hopping, play some board games, maybe do some hiking, & just generally enjoy the company of the friends who I miss so much!
Tuesday, June 16
12:10p SFO - LAX 1:40p
The Munchkin (aka my sister Kelly, though she's not so much of a munchkin anymore...) is graduating high school on the 17th, which is the stimulus for this whole trip. Dave's gonna leave on the 18th so my mom & sister & I can spend some quality time together over the weekend.
Monday, June 22
12:50p LAX - DFW 6:00p, 8:45p DFW - TPA 12:03a (6/23)
& back to work on Tuesday. I think I've already sent messages out to most of the people back home about my trip, but if you're reading this & didn't get a note & want to hang out, drop me a line! sallymiles at gmail; 626.755.5550 <3
In both places I'll definitely be doing plenty of going out for drinks & lots of generally hanging out, so whatever you wanna do, let me know.
GEE, IT'D BE NICE IF THAT WAS ON YOUR WEBSITE.
So I made reservations for next weekend & Dave & I went over to downtown Dead City -- err, Dade City, to look at the antique shops (no, never mind, boring) & the historic courthouse (well, the outside, anyway, because it's closed for Good Friday)... okay, so we ended up getting a smoothie & a coffee from a cute little cafe that I instantly decided I had to Yelp about, & then went home. The 1-hour-each-way trip wasn't a total bust because I discovered that Dade City, unlike Tampa (& most of Florida), has hills!
Driving from I-75 out to the zoo through the woody hills, it was almost like I was back in California! Obviously the hills are nothing like the mountains of SoCal (or NorCal, for that matter), but you can just about forget that as you go around a hilly curve. I couldn't stop grinning & I almost wanted to cry, I was so happy. I miss hills so much! I want to go hiking so badly! I'm definitely going hiking while I'm in California in June, whether it's in Tilden in Berkeley or Eaton Canyon in Pasadena. Who wants to join me?
- Mood: amused
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