To all my fans out there.....

I know you've been anxiously awaiting new posts from the ever-so-exciting Shindy. ;-) Wait no further, I shall make your wish come true...

I've pretty much done NOTHING at school for the past two weeks. After the 3nensei graduation, I still had classes but I think everyone, teachers AND students, were just waiting for spring break to come. Well, it finally has, as Monday was the official start of the break. Unfortunately, I am not really going anywhere these next two weeks, and for some retarded reason that makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER, all of us ALTs are required to report to school everyday with NOTHING to do. Today is the second day to this madness and I'm actually considering slitting my wrist just for fun...

Am I not the most optimistic person you've ever met or what? Hehe. Anyway, as for outside of school, let's see. Well, a couple of weekends ago, I had a okonomiyaki/K-drama party at my place. It was FUN, as Jeff and I are easily entertained with TV and food at all times. Dude, I am now an obsessed fan of "My Name is Kim Sam Soon." This CAN'T be healthy. Damn you, Mona! ;-) I spent that weekend being anti-social and just watched TV. Hehe.

Last week was packed with activities as Jeff's sister, Kris, is here visiting Jeff for two weeks. Last Monday we went to yakiniku and visited Bob's Bar for the first time. Other than the fact that they need to work on their drinks a bit, it is a pretty cool place with a good atmosphere. Yaay, a new place to frequent in Ota! Tuesday was "Vernal Equinox," meaning we all had a day off from school. A bunch of us went to Korona no yu for some onsen-ing and sauna-ing. Mmm...a great way to spend the day off. We also went to AEON which is pretty much our second home. On Wednesday, we went for some yummy kaiten sushi in Ota. It was good that I had a break from eating on Thursday. Haha.

Friday was the day of the shougakkou graduation ceremony. I was delegated to be the unofficial tea server as I helped make endless cups of tea for the guests. The ceremony itself was SO BORING, just like the chuugakkou one. However, it was soo cute when the little 6nensei cried as they walked out of school for the last time. Awww. That night, I attended the end-of-year enkai (party) for my shougakkou. I figured I gave my chuugakkou a shot, now it was time to see how my shougakkou teachers would disappoint me. To my surprise, I had such an AWESOME time at the enkai!! The enkai was held at Pia, an Italian restaurant I have never visited before but will for sure from now on! The teachers organized games throughout the enkai...pretty much the same ones that I play with the kids at school! It was SOO funny when I led Simon Says in English with the teachers after a few drinks. Um, let's just say that the kids are MUCH better at it than the teachers. Hehe. Later in the evening, one of the teachers busted out his guitar and started singing, "Puff, the Magic Dragon..." Now I can't seem to get that song outta my head!! Hehe, now that I've said that, you'll be haunted as well. Muahahahahha. The admin. lady at school who usually has a straight/cold face at school all the time got SOO drunk at the enkai that EVERYONE was just like...whoa, she's SOO talkative and out there tonight. Hehe. After the enkai, a 6nensei teacher suggested we all go play table-tennis. The Chinese in me just couldn't resist a game of table-tennis. When we got to the place (Park Lane in Ota), we realized that we could only go bowling, as table-tennis wasn't an option. Bowling was just as fun, as one of the drunk-as teachers kept rolling on the floor every time she her turn came up. Dude, a few drinks really loosen up these teachers. Anyway, after bowling, I trained home with the drunk-as teachers on my ghetto-as line. A FUN-filled evening, indeed. I'm SOO glad I decided to go to the enkai.

Thought of the minute:

Bored bored bored.

Awww

Thought of the day:

I LOVE MY PARENTS. I just got off the phone with my mom and dad and I just feel SOO fortunate to have them as parents. Today I had to tell them about an excellent job opportunity in Hong Kong that I'm passing up in order to stay in Japan for another year. I thought they would do everything in their power to convince me otherwise, ie) nag me to death. Instead, they were both SOO understanding and supportive which was SUCH a pleasant surprise. Aww, I miss my parents.

Dude, that's messed up...

I spoke with the 3nensei JTE, Ms. Hashiba, about a couple of the "missing" students at the graduation ceremony the other day. First, there was Ryuu, a trouble-maker who always, well...gave me trouble in class. Anyway, I noticed that he wasn't at the ceremony, but later I saw him dressed in normal clothing right outside of school, taking pictures and laughing with his classmates. Ms. Hashiba told me that Ryuu had dyed his hair the day before graduation, and when told that he needed to re-dye his hair for the ceremony, he got upset and stormed out of school, saying he wouldn't come to graduation. Well, Ms. Hashiba talked to his grandma and told her that they'd make an exception this time, just so that he would come. Unfortunately, Ryuu's pride got in the way and he never showed up to the ceremony. Dumb dumb dumb. This boy's gonna look back later on this and realize how stupid he was. (Note: When I mentioned how in Yabuzuka they just hold down the kids who've dyed their hair and spray their hair black, Ms. Hashiba just gave me a look. She said that some parents might not think that the teachers have a right to do that. Um, Jeff...I guess Yabu IS pretty ghetto, huh? Don't you agree? Haha.)

The other student that didn't show up to graduation, Megumi, is someone whom I've never met before. Are you confused?? So was I. Apparently, Megumi never shows up to school during school hours. She occasionally comes in the late afternoon and studies by herself in the announcement room. She does so b/c she doesn't want any interaction with the other students. How can she graduate if she's never shown up to class, you ask? Well, in Japan, EVERYONE gets to graduate jr. high and I mean EVERYONE. Ms. Hashiba told me that even if a student shows up to school a few times out of the year, he/she would still get to graduate. Clazy. Anyway, Ms. Hashiba and the other 3nensei teachers did what they could to encourage Megumi to at least come to the graduation ceremony. That morning, Megumi ran away. Because the 3nensei teachers knew that Megumi didn't want to see her classmates, they offered to hold a second graduation ceremony later in the afternoon, just so she would attend. Ryuu was also invited. This was their last ditch effort to give these two kids their graduation certificates in a proper ceremony. Neither of them showed up. The teachers will now bring the certificates to their homes. Sad.

Because high school education is not compulsory in Japan, Ms. Hashiba worries about Megumi, since she is on the verge of not getting into a public high school. This would mean that she could either go to night school or get a part-time job, neither of which Ms. Hashiba sees Megumi doing. If Megumi doesn't get into high school (results are posted on 3/15), Ms. Hashiba guesses that she will most likely just stay at home all day, every day. I remember Jenny mentioned this one condition that many Japanese teenagers suffer from, hikikomori, which means to withdraw from society. It's more like an epidemic sweeping across Japan, where kids stay in their rooms all day, refusing to leave or interact with anyone. This problem in Japan persists as parents take a hands-off approach in dealing with it. Very sad.

Thought of the day:

On a lighter and weirder note, my tea lady at school put 2 teaspoons of sugar and a few drops of bleach in the vase of water for the flowers. Hmm...am I missing something??

Graduation

We had the 3nensei graduation ceremony yesterday. I have to say, it was the most BORING graduation ceremony EVER. I was literally dozing off at some points. I was very touched at the end though, when we handed flowers to each of them as they walked out of the gym. EVERY 3nensei girl was sobbing, including some boys, but most of the boys were trying to hold it back...not very successful in doing so. Most of the 3nensei teachers were crying as well. It was just one big sob fest. After the ceremony, the teachers again used the convenience of child labor at its best, as the whole gym was put back to order by the 1nensei and 2nensei. Many of the students, teachers and parents lined up at the field outside to say one final goodbye to the 3nensei as they walked out of Kizaki Jr. High School for the last time. Natsukashii.










One of the best parts of the day...a free bento! Haha.

Wiz-fabulous

On Friday, Jeff and I left Ota for the first time in years...well, it seemed like it anyway. We went to Shibukawa and were introduced to the Wiz....the most ghetto-fabulous karaoke place EVER. I had heard stories about the Wiz...of how you have to write down your song requests on a piece of paper and hand it to the lady who runs the place instead of your normal punch-the-#-in-the-remote way of doing it. Then, the lady will stop putting in your requests after awhile, a sign that she's closing and to GET THE HELL OUT. Haha. The Wiz did not disappoint. The moment I stepped in, I knew we were in for a treat. The Wiz was just one big dark room, with dark 70s couches lined all around (the ones they sell at Asian furniture stores back at home). I'm guessing our group had about 15 to 20 people, but we were the ONLY ones there! It was cool to have the ENTIRE place to ourselves! The Wiz reminded me of karaoke bars back at home, with just one stage area for everyone, and not separate karaoke rooms like we're used to in Japan. It was really fun! Definitely a must-visit if you're ever in Shibukawa.

After karaoke, some of us headed back to Chau's place and played Taboo. I just LOVE Taboo and I can play it for hours and hours. We split into two teams, the people from the west coast vs. the east coast. I'm proud to say....us west coasters kicked ass! We more than doubled their score! Woohoo! Plus, we had Daniel on our team, and he's just a walking thesaurus/dictionary. Hehe. Who else could think of, "Depressions in the asphalt!" as a clue for "pot-hole." Genius. Haha. We played Taboo till 4am...I swear my brain hadn't worked so hard in months. Sad. This little trip to Shibukawa also hindered my diet. Oh well, weekends don't count, right? ;)

We slept at Anna's place and woke up past noon the next day. Thanks, Anna! We ate lunch, then headed back to Ota for good ol' AEON. Jeff and I met up with Ann, Jenny and Sean and we all watched Narnia together. It was the longest movie EVER and the fact that I had to pee 2 seconds into the movie didn't help at all. The movie was alright, but nothing too exciting. I'm not too into the whole fantasy genre anyway. After the movie, we ate at the Viking Buffet at AEON. Just imagine a ghetto version of a Disneyland kinda restaurant. Hmm...seems like we just couldn't escape ghetto-ness this weekend.

I had planned on going to the gym on Sunday (not really but let's pretend) but it was too um....clear outside to go. Instead, I went grocery shopping.

Thoughts of the day:

While at the Wiz, Scott jokingly said that he alternates btw Jeff's blog and mine, b/c they are essentially the same blog anyway. Also, he said that the comments in our blogs just consist of us two agreeing with what the other said. Um, I think he has a point. Dou shiyou kana? Perhaps I should just copy and paste from Jeff's blog from now on.

I am proud to announce that we have 2 new members in our Veronica Mars' cult. Jenny finished the first season of VM in 4 days, and Ann finished it in less than 3!! This must be a record of some sort. THANK YOU AGAIN, Mona, for introducing me to this AWESOME show. Next on the list, the K-drama entitled, "My Name is Kim Sam Soon." I have a feeling I will be hooked on this one in no time. Mona, you are officially my drug dealer.

Pictures....as promised

Here are the pictures from Jeff and Ann's birthday bash. Enjoy!


We crammed 24 gaijin in that one area! A feat, indeed!


A picture of me with the birthday kids!


Mmm....cake.






Jeff raping Veronica...


Veronica raping Jeff...


Karaoke supaastaas


While the others continue drinking their money's worth...

Fat Fat Fat!!!

I bet it's no big surprise that I feel like a cow these days since every post of mine involves some mention of food. This one's no exception. ;)

Last Wednesday I went to a small yakitori/sashimi place with Ann, Jeff and Sean for our weekly Ota night out. Not only did we eat there, we went to Gusto's for even MORE food afterwards! What is wrong with us?! Though I have to say, the group seems to get smaller every week. Come on, people...we need you to come out and eat! Hmm...perhaps there lies my problem. Dude, I should be eating less, let alone forcing others to join me! Hmm.

On Friday we finally had Ann and Jeff's birthday bash! We fit 24 people in Ikkyu, Ota's best izakaya, if you ask me. Anyway, it was SO much fun! The party included nomihodai (all-you-can-drink) but there was SOO much food left over that you'd think it was tabehodai (all-you-can-eat) as well! Other than the fact that I was SO hot in there (it literally felt like I was having hot flashes), everything seemed to work out great! After dinner, some of us went to karaoke above Gen. After some broken glasses, a stolen Hirai Ken poster, a retarded remote, and much gaijin drunkeness, it's a safe bet that the workers there HATE us. Oh well, that's ok...I wouldn't want to go back anyway, since they didn't have ANY Kelly songs in the room they gave us. And well, in my book, that is just a BIG Dame Judy Dench. Pictures to be posted later....and trust me, you don't want to miss this. Hehe. Jeff and Ann slept over at my apt that night and we watched some Christina in concert before everyone passed out.

The next day was a purposeless day, indeed. We woke up and made breakfast. Later, we all went to AEON and walked around aimlessly, then had kaiten sushi for dinner. We walked around some more with NO destination in mind. In order to prevent Ann from spending unneccessary money AND for us to find something to do, the three of us took the AEON bus back near Ota Eki, then walked to Time Clip to rent videos and buy toys for our desks. Exciting Saturday night, huh?! Hehe. Actually, I quite enjoyed our little trip. The walking part was needed anyway b/c we all feel as though we weigh a million pounds. I swear if winter doesn't end soon, I might actually need gastric bypass surgery. I feel DISGUSTING. We were all supposed to have started a diet on Monday. I've started to eat smaller portions, but I still need to move around more. Let it be warm so that I could go to the gym, dammit!

Thoughts of the day:

The toy I bought at Time Clip is solar powered and bobs its head and arms up and down all day long. I am SO amused by it. Also, I am planning to start a mini-figure collection of superheroes. I need to go back to Time Clip to get Batman first! Woohoo! More toys for my desk!

Sorry to end this post on a sad note, but I JUST found out that Dana Reeve died of lung cancer. So sad! It hasn't even been two years since Christopher Reeve died! WHAT is wrong with this world?!