Uuuummmmmmmm

So...ummm...yeah...

One Week!

So I only have one week before Meghan gets here, and needless to say I'm excited. Its weird though because I'm like a travel agent. I'm lucky enough to live a mere hour train ride from Kyoto, a city full of enough historic sights to fill its own traffic guide as well as Japans third largest city and the sixth largest by urban population in the world in Osaka (third behind Tokyo obviously and Yokohama, but personally I think thats a bunk rating because usually people just combine the two to make a ranking by "Urban Population" which brings the Tokyo area to the highest in the world at around 31 million people. Can you even fathom 31 million people living within a common area thats all connected by trains and easy to move around in? 31 million. Unbelievable). So if I ever do anything, its not really a big deal. Usually someone on the weekend suggests that we go to Kyoto on a Saturday so I'll stop in early and pop by a temple. Now though, I have to (or get to which is the way I try to look at it considering my fortunate situation) remember what it was like when I first came to Japan, and everything was really exciting because it was new. Whatever the case, I'm very excited I get to go pick her up from Kansai Airport next Tuesday.


HEY LOOK!! NATTO!!
FERMENTED BEANS!!




So we had our Christmas party up in Kinomoto area ( I think thats where Gabe's house is, either way it was at Gabe's.) It was kind of like Thanksgiving but with more people and more food so I'm not really going to blather about it except to say this: seven layer dip. That's right. First time since August that I've eaten something Mexican. Which makes me wonder why Taco Bell won't open a store here. And I don't mean in Tokyo or Osaka, I mean in Shiga, by my house, within walking distance. Is that too much to ask.

Injury update. I pulled a groin during warm ups. Then, on Wednesday while about to cut Myles's hair, I burned my arm to Hell and back while cooking an onion. The oil shot out of the pan and embedded itself in my wrist like it was a journalist in Iraq. I had white blisters around a red wrist writhing woefully (oooooooohhh alliteration!) but by the next day the wrist was normal color where the blisters had become red. I figured thats natural. Then like the genius I am I went to Judo, and the blisters were all ripped off doing ground work. So now I have these nice open sores that are fun for everyone to look at. Then to ad insult to injury, i get a cold sore. It wouldn't go away so I went to the drug store and asked for some medicine. Like always I brought my dictionary when dealing with medicine. So I showed her what I found for cold sore. She looked confused, and she just sort of looked at me for a second. I pointed to the corner of my mouth. "ooooH Hapis!" I was confused. "Hai, soudesune, Hapis." Now, I know what a cold sore is and something like 80% of Americans get them from time to time, but saying Herpes in the middle of a store isn't really professional is it? Now I know its not the other herpes that would prevent me from kayaking or mountain climbing, but didn't we invent the word "cold sore" so as to allow us to discuss said ailment in a professional manner whilst within a public setting. Just gi'me the damn ointment and keep your voice down!

What else... Oh yeah, at my Hikone school a student tried to fight a teacher, one girl said she loved me then said she wanted me, two boys tried to look at my...me while I was going to the bathroom then commented to another teacher when he walked in, and another girl said we should date and saw nothing wrong with the fifteen reasons why I wouldn't. All in all though, good school (not academic wise, good God their dumb, just good kids I mean).

So I'm throwing a Dropkick Murphys video on here. Why? tin whistle, accordion, banjo, members over 40 years old, and they still rule. Thats why.