05.09.2012 - past two days. + I went up another tall building just for the view.

Tuesday

What a day.
Woke at at 4.30 this morning so I had time to mess about on the internet, drink water, braid my hair (it takes like 10 minutes to french braid all of it, therefor it much be factored in), and get out the door by 6 so I could be changed and ready for 7. It takes me about 40 minutes to get to this specific school if I don't walk especially fast to the train.

Worked for an hour, and was home at around 9.

Hung out, ate some food, skyped with Magnus (and mum, briefly), then started getting ready for the rest of my day.

At 12 I left to go meet Keiko for our English hour. Now we don't meet until 1 but I wasn't really at all sure I knew how to get from the station to the cafe, so I gave myself heaps and heaps of time.
Of course, once I got there I knew exactly where to go so I killed about 30 minutes walking up and down the street it's on, spent some time in a stationary store but it wasn't very nice.

Talked with her from 1-2, she's just a sweet lady. She said she wants to have me over for dinner in a few weeks, when her husband's back from his business trip, and that she's very excited to get to meet my family at Christmas 'because she can tell how much I love them'. Aw.

Then I had to go right from there to Tamachi Station to meet Paul for my second school of the day.
Had two classes, and then I came home and made myself dinner!
Tonight's dinner comes in two parts. The starter: a lovely blend of french bread that is right on the cusp of being stale and apples. And the main course: half a can of black beans and a tortilla!
Woo cooking.

someone hire me as a head chef, quick.

It seems like heaps of food, but because of the schedule/the fact that I can't eat less than 2 hours before class means I live on two meals a day. So I feel better about just tucking into massive dinners, haha.

While I was a work a package came for me from Melanie (of Dots & Loops fame)! She sent me a necklace that I've been lusting over for about a year and some handmade cat pins.
Fun fact, I love pins.
She's a peach.

I think I have Thursday off, and if I do I will definitely be getting all my packages full of delightful things for delightful people in the post, so they may enjoy all the delights soon!

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Wednesday

Woke up and went to Hombu. I even rode my bike! It was a bit nerve wracking, but since it cuts 20+ minutes from my commute it's worth it.
Class was taught by Miyamoto Sensei (7th dan, shihan) and I really liked him.
It was my best/most enjoyable class I've taken thus far.

Came home and skyped with Sarah briefly, but the connection wasn't very good.

Decided to go out in search of the Tokyo Metropolitan Building which has another place to look out at the city from the tall building! And it's free!
Eventually found it, I pretty much took the most complication route possible to get there. But it turns out it's just a 40 minute walk from my house with, like, 1 turn. Oops? I took a train and everything.
The train did cut off about 20 minutes of that walk, but yes.

this is the building!

It was gorgeous though, was better than the other place I went.
Largely because it's almost a 360 view. There's a cafe in one corner, which I would definitely go to for lunch if I was there with anyone else.

oh, Tokyo fading off into the smog. So lovely.

I even got some lady to take my photo, she made it look so difficult.
I mean, really, what's so hard? I set everything up. All she had to do was press the button half down, let it focus, then press it the rest of the way. Sweet jesus.
Anyway, this isn't nearly as good as it could have been, but it's the best I got.

aaaaaand I've made a few of my photos into fake tilt shifts. I was a tilt shift camera so badly, but they're ridiculously expensive for something I would use almost never, c'est la vie.

I just talked to Magnus for a bit, now I'm enjoying some Edward Sharpe while going through today's photos.

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Went to work for a few hours.
Stopped by Nissin to get some sorbet because it's still a million degrees and I've been wanting some.
But that's an expensive place to shop so I planned on stopping my the normal store for some vegetables/tomato sauce for tonight's dinner but then was just too tired of people to deal.
I made do with what I had in the house, which was just onions and lettuce. And pasta obviously.

But then I got to eat my sorbet! I got mango, but it's a bit on the sweet side for my tastes.
The same brand had a passionfruit which I think I'd get if I got it again.

I have tomorrow off so my goal is to, first, find a 100 Yen shop for s few things and, second, mail a bunch of presents home!
Then do something else to occupy the rest of my day, we'll see.

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Have a pleasant day, all of you delightful people.

27.08.2012 - second video

still no ideas on what your name as a whole ought to be.
seriously considering Sad Sacks, purely because I think it's a pretty phrase, even if it's a bit morose.

today was a bit of a frustrating day because I had a very specific and lovely plan and life got in the way, you can read all about it below. With no photos, you'll have the read the last paragraph to find out the seriously not at all exciting reason why.

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Woke up ay 5.30
Went to the 7 AM beginners class, which went far better than yesterday.
Since they do thing so differently here, I'm basically a beginner except I can fall.
It also just wasn't as intense a speed, so at the end of class I was sweaty and exhausted not dizzy and nauseous, so yeah. Much better in my opinion.

took a nice leisurely walk home, stopped to pick up some apple juice and some pasta from my favourite korean grocery.

after breakfast I Skyped with my family for a bit, though the connection kept cutting in and out which blows.
they're really sweet and Skype with me daily because it makes me feel better.
Can I gush more about how great they all are, or would it be a tad overboard?

I also made my second video, in which I basically say I may never make another. They're just more fun to make if Magnus is there. And I think because I blog daily that it's less interesting to then talk about it somehow.
Here it is in case you'd like to see it, I do give a [very] brief room tour, should you be interested in that.

Now I guess I'm going to go make myself some lunch, maybe some black beans to go with my tortillas I got at the International Store on Saturday.
Still hate eating alone, so depressing.

My uncle did send me a link about a vegan meet up group here, the next event is during the day so I'll be working but most of the past ones seem to be in the evening which I can get to. It'd be nice to know where to go for dairy free/vegan food here. And speak to other people.

This afternoon Paul's going to come over and take me to get my bike, which is going to make a massive different to me getting around. Much more pleasant and much less time consuming.

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Oh jesus, this afternoon.
Went to the storage place to look at the bike, it was clearly too big.
But then Paul realized someone had broken the window right by the lock and had been in there, though nothing seemed to have been taken.
So I walked home because he said it often takes a while for police to arrive to stuff like this
That was around maybe 2?

Stopped at a grocery store on a way back in picked myself up some readymade noodle type stuff for lunch (didn't go with my original mexican idea) because I am finally hungry again (not really, but I don't have to force myself to eat now. Slowly getting there, oh poor body).
Waited around and passed the time by reading Anna Karenina which I started like 3 months ago, got halfway through and then just put down. But I'm proper into it again now!




Paul finally said he was done at almost 5. Apparently they've been having a bit of trouble with break ins in that neighbourhood, so they dusted for finger prints and everything.

Took the train over to where the bike store was, only to find they didn't have any cheap used bikes. Which they apparently (I feel like I'm over using that word in this post, sorry about that!) always have.
C'est la vie.

Decided I really wanted to walk (since today's plan had just been to go walk around a park) so I walked the 4ish kms home. Made me feel a bit better.


Tomorrow after class I'll be meeting with Paul + his family and Keiko, the lady who I'll be helping with her English by just talking to her. Apparently (!) she has a low knowledge level of English, so it'll be pretty basic stuff.

I spend about 5 hours walking around the city today and didn't have my camera for any of it since I kept going places I didn't want to have it. aka the dojo and then a bike ride, which obviously didn't happen. And it would have been perfect to have it then, the sun was going down and the lights were all turning on… really lovely.

Enjoy these two photobooth photos I took while waiting for Paul this afternoon. Like so it's not completely photoless today. I think having me post a photoless blog post would make the world explode or something.

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have a pleasant day!