Packed and Ready to Go!

Wow - this backpacking lark isn't easy!

There isn't as much space as I thought! So I have to take a smaller bag as carry on otherwise I will have no room for anything that I buy!

I'm really excited about going now. I can't wait to experience all these different things in these different countries!!!

I love travelling! It's one of my favourite things in the world!

So, that's it from me!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Love you all!

xxxx

Birds Nest Hair

I got back from the hairdresser a little while ago.

I've had 2 inches cut off making my hair the most horrible length. But I can't go any shorter otherwise it would look even worse.

So my hairdresser dried it and I decided there and then i couldn't leave wearing it down because i have 5 inches of black roots.

So I asked him for a funky up do.

And I left with a birds nest on my head - loads of curls backcombed and pinned into various spots on my head!

I would take it out but I'm going out later and wouldn't be able to do anything with it!

So for one night only!!!!!!

xxx

キレイ

I'm well into cleaning my apartment.

I always love it just after I've cleaned. Everything looks so much NICER! And it just feels nice not to be surrounded by chaos!

I always say that I'm gonna try so hard to keep it like this, but it never lasts more than a few days back at school before all the paper starts piling up again!

I'm hoping to finish the kitchen and bathroom, do my laundry and then soak in the bath and spend some time pampering myself before I make it to the hairdressers later on this afternoon.

God it feels so satisfying to be productive rather than lounging around on my ass all day!

And then tonight I shall stay in, have a beer and pack.

The excitement is really sinking in now. I think it's coz loads of people have already left for their trips! I'm finding it hard to sit still! I can't believe I'm about to do this amazing trip!!! I've been talking about it all year and now I'm SOOOOOO excited!!!!!!!

Yay!

xx

Hehe Given Up!

I gave up on the cleaning! I JUST CAN'T BE ARSED!!!!

I did manage to clear a table. But that's about it.

I'll do it tomorrow.

I MEAN IT!!!

And I actually will because it's the day before I go on holiday and I have to coz I need to do a load of washing and there's no way I wanna come back to my house in this state.

I'm also toying with the idea of getting a haircut tomorrow if I can get to the salon at the right kinda time...like late afternoon/early evening - after all the cleaning is done.

And I've packed......kind of....or at least started packing.

I'm always a late packer - just because I get paranoid I've forgotten something. If you pack the night before you go or in the morning that you leave, I always find it a lot more stress free! Although I always forget a comb....and my sunglasses.

I'm too cold to do anything else so I think I'll go to bed! Not that I'm tired but I know I'm not gonna do anymore cleaning so I may as well!

Night

xx

Shopping!

I just got back from a spot of shopping.

I say a "spot" of shopping but it set me back over a hundred quid.

So I did end up buying one of those traveller's backpacks. It's gonna be so much easier - especially considering that I won't be using taxis!!!

I bought a 30L one. It's actually a pretty good size! But I hate the colour and they didn't have it in any others so I bought it because the size is perfect. And will do really well when I go to other places as well.

It just looks absolutely ridiculous on me! I can't remember the last time I used a backpack.....must have been when I was a teenager or something! So I'm looking at myself with it and it just looks weird!

But it's all good.

I also bought another bag - it's like a day bag that goes across your body - I actually can't believe I don't already own one! I have like 20 or so bags here and not ONE of them does that! So that's definitely a good investment!!!

Now I'm gonna start tidying my apartment - SERIOUSLY!!!!!!

Enough

I've had enough this week.

It's going so damn slow I can't stand it! And it's just been a really, really horrible week.

I've had enough of explaining about Christmas, making cards, snowflakes, decortaing trees and of the kids who are just becoming really annoying.

It's not their fault - they're really excited and after all, I am fabulous BUT I haven't been feeling good all week and the last thing I want (or need) is a load of little shits jumpin all over me.

I've become really good at avoiding it though! LOL!!

I dunno - I just feel tired. It's been a long and hard week for me and my health. And I AM really excited about going on holiday - I need it and I totally deserve it coz I've had a rought couple of months. The break will be good.

But I have so much crap to do before I go away - including cleaning my apartment from top to bottom. And at the moment that's such a massive job coz it's a complete dump.

And I'm feeling better but tired so I seriously can't be arsed to do it!

*groan*

On The Mend

I had my last dose of IV meds this morning.

And now I'm done!

Apart from this cold which I don't seem to be able to shake off, I'm absolutely fine.
The pain has completely gone so now I just have to keep on taking the antibiotics til Sunday and then that's it!

Still no explanation of what it was or what caused it.

But that's normal over here - they tend to treat the symptoms without actually investigating the cause.

And they've given me the go ahead for my trip. Not that they would've been able to stop me anyway!

xx

ZZZZzzzzzz

Man..

These IV antibiotics are making me sooooo sleeeeeeepy.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Yay!

I got 2 Christmas cards today.

One from my mum and dad and one from my JTE. Who also gave me a yummy belgian chocolate santa!

I think 2 Christmas cards is all I can expect! Back home with my friends, we don't bother with cards - just the presents!!

So feel free to send me some!!

I have a craving for cheese and onion crisps - Walkers of course!!!!

xxx

Feeling Much Better

I actually managed to sleep last night for the first time all week.

Maybe it's because my painkillers are so strong.

I woke up this morning feeling much better. My shoulder is still hurting but I'm necking the painkillers so I don't have to feel the pain that I was yesterday. My chest is still hurting as well but I can take much deeper breaths today.

My temperature is still crazy though. Yesterday it hit a whopping 39.8. It's definitely lower today but going from being extremely cold to extremely hot all throughout the day is starting to get really annoying.

So I'll be going back to the hospital tonight to get my second dose of IV antibiotics.

But I'm feeling much better!

:-)

Why....

...does all the weird stuff always happen to me?!

I went to the hospital this evening because as well as my chest hurting everytime I inhale, my shoulder just starting KILLING me.

I've somehow managed to get a bacterial infection...in my shoulder. And it's paralysed my left arm. And it's AGONY!!!

They're not even sure it is a bacterial infection. I'm starting a course of antibiotics and I have to go back in over the next couple of days to get IV antibiotics and if it gets worse, then I have to have an MRI. It's gonna set me back a fortune. Even with the Japanese insurance. They wanted to keep me in for 3 days but I said no.

Trust this to happen when I'm due to go on holiday at the end of the week.

Fucking typical.

Hot?! Are You Mad?!

The sun was out today.

Which means it's hot.

That's the thinking of the teachers at one of my elementary schools.

I walked in in full winter attire to find the heating off, a couple of windows open, and the school officer sitting there in a T-shirt!

A Tshirt?! WTF?!

I was absolutely freezing. And my cold is getting progressively worse. I'm permanently cold. Even when I'm wearing 4 layers AND a jacket. I was sitting there shivering, as my lips turned more and more purple.

I thought about going to the gym to sweat it out but I felt so crap.

No Compromise

I finally get it.

You can want someone as much as you like.

But...

...the sad realization is that everyone comes with their own set of 'rules'. People do things a certain why, or think a certain way and they're not willing to change that.

Which is wrong.

You have to be willing to compromise. It's rare that you're gonna find someone else out there who is EXACTLY like you.

You have to be willing to change a few things.

And some people just aren't.

Why is it that those are the people that we want the most?

*sigh*

Phew!

I was really nervous about relaxing my hair myself.

The girl that did it for me went back to the States in the summer, so I had to do it all on my lonesome.

I couldn't wait any longer. I need it coloured too but you have to wait 2 weeks between the two. I figured I could live with my terrible roots throughout the festive season but I seriously couldn't take the frizzies and the tangles anymore!

And it's turned out really well!

There's nothing nicer than the feeling of newly relaxed hair. How easily it combs through without all the little frizzies making it look like you've been electrocuted.

I don't think I did the back very well but that's OK.

Practice makes perfect!

:-)

Hostels

So in between all my sniffing and sneezing, I've been booking hostels for my trip.

I know I said I was gonna wait until I get to each place but I've changed my mind.

Looking through the guidebook today, there is so much that I wanna see in each place. I need months to cover everywhere I wanna go. But I have to be selective and narrow it down into 2.5 weeks.

And I don't wanna have to waste time looking for somewhere to stay. I've found 4 really cheap ones so far so it's not like I'm gonna be ripped off or anything - and sure, you MAY find something cheaper when you get there but I'm a sucker for traveller reviews - they give you a much better idea of what you're getting.

But I can't book for everything - just the main things that I definitely know I'm gonna be doing. Like, I KNOW I'm gonna be spending 2 days in Bangkok, 3 days in Siem Reap and 3 days in Luang Prabang. I haven't booked anything in between though coz I'm not sure where I'm gonna be. I wanted to spend a night in Ko Phi Phi but it's just not worth all that money for a pretty beach and none of the cheaper accommodation is available. Looks like I'm gonna be doing that as a day trip from Phuket instead. Which is still worthwhile. It looks soooo beautiful.

I just wish I had more time.

And on that note, I'm going to bed. I'm not tired but I need to make sure I get enough rest so I'm not tempted to call in sick tomorrow with this cold.

I'm at the sneezing stage now and it's doing my head in!!

Goodnight

xx

I Hate Colds

I have got a really horrible cold.

I could just feel it coming on Friday night...and then it came in full force yesterday.

I was MCing for a Christmas Party and just felt shit the whole night.

Everyone was like 'You can't tell you're sick'.

I must have been putting on a pretty good front because the whole night I just wanted to run home and curl up in bed. Seriously, I felt so crap, I couldn't really enjoy myself.

Normally I would be one of the first people to join the kids on the dancefloor. But I just couldn't do it. I just didn't have the genkiness inside me. And I did manage to avoid that part of the job most of the night....apart from a couple of times where I got dragged into it.

It was still an OK night though. And I FINALLY got to wear the gorgeous silk dress I bought in Vietnam!

Yay!

Lariam

I finally got my malaria pills yesterday.

Iw as actually a bit pissed coz I've always gone for Malarone when I've needed them in the past but they are so ridiculously expensive here I just couldn't afford them :-(

So I had to buy Mefloquine (Lariam) instead.

And 1-2% of people get hallucinations on this one. A very small percentage so it should be all good. What I hate the most about these ones though is that you take them weekly instead of everyday. Whilst that may be a good thing for some people, it's not for me coz I'm likely to forget!!!

Doh!!

We'll just have to see how it goes!

Fingers crossed

xx

Music Update

I lost over 7000 songs when my mp3 player packed up.

I now have just under 3500.

It's the not the same stuff but I'm learning about different artists and genres of music from rifling through friends' music libraries!

I really appreciate guys. You have no idea.

Love y'all.

xx

Christmas Cards

I love making Christmas cards in class.

I never fai to be amazed at the creativity of some of the kids - even if they are a pain in the arse the rest of the time.

Shove on some Christmas music and give them loads of origami paper to play with.

Works every time!

;-)

Hey - I just realised I haven't received a single Christmas card!

:-(

Put the Heating On!!

I went into the primary school I hate most this morning...

....only to find they didn't even have the heating on!!

WTF?! It was really cold this morning and echoes of '寒い！！’ were ringing around the staffroom.

As if I needed another reason to hate this school more than I do already.

So I sat there with my hood up. I got told to take it down at another school. I did, but I decided that there was no way I would do it if they asked me to. Not until they put the heating on anyway.

Surely everyone sitting there in their coats and complaining should be a good enough reason to put the heating on?!

It is December after all - heater time!!

I really don't understand how their logic works sometimes.

Only one more week of freezing my arse off at that school to go!

Selfish Bastards!

So on Wednesday afternoons I have to go to the B.O.E.

Normally I do lesson prep there, but today I decided to study (now the JLPT's over?!?!)

Fat chance.

Everyone was looking at these photos and the women were SHRIEKING in their high pitched annoying voices. And everyone was just TALKING TALKING TALKING.

REALLY LOUDLY.

I couldn't concentrate for shit.

After an hour and a half, I literally couldn't take it anymore. I asked my supervisor if I could leave because it was too noisy to study there. And I put a lot of emphasis on this last part.

You know what she said?

I have to take 30 mins nenkyu!!!!!

Are you SERIOUS?! I just looked at her and asked her what she expected me to do - I have a deadline for the CLAIR course (she didn't need to know that the deadline is today ;-)) and I have to finish the test. With all the noise in the office, how was I supposed to concentrate?!

For some reason, I felt that that was her cue to apologise.

But she just repeated that I had to take nenkyu.

So I flopped down over my desk in the most unprofessional manner possible and fell asleep. I could hear people coming in and commenting on 'how tired the ALT is'.

10 minutes later I felt a tap on my shoulder and was told I could leave (without having to take nenkyu).

Hehe!!

Long Lunchbreaks

Lunch was at 12.05 today instead of the normal 12.25.

Normally I would go home and sleep for an hour.

But today I decided to stay at school. For one reason only...

...it's warm!

If I went back to my apartment, I would've been ridiculously uncomfortable because it's so cold! And by the time I warmed up, I would have to leave anyway.

So I figured it would be better to stay put....and snooze on my desk instead.

:-)

準備してない！！！

I feel so unprepared for my Christmas trip.

I don't even have a guidebook! I've ordered on online but it won't get here until next week.

I've decided to take the risk and find hostels when I get to each place. I don't have a set plan so I don't know where I'm gonna be and when! So there's no point trying to make reservations.

I'm leaving next weekend but the excitement hasn't crept in yet for some reason.

I'm wondering if I should invest in a backpack rather than lugging a suitcase around with me. What I hate about those things is you can't lie stuff flat. Backpack or suitcase, it's still gonna be heavy.

But would a suitcase be OK though......

Jesus

I've never wanted a day to be over this much in a long time!

Since I woke up this morning, all I've wanted to do is go back to bed.

I woke up exhausted and I've felt that way all day long.

I've literally been struggling to keep my eyes open. I fell asleep for an hour in my lunch break...fell asleep HARD.

My alarm went off and I had to use every ounce of energy I had to haul myself out of bed and get to primary school.

And I got there and everyone seemed to be more genki than usual!

*groan*

Although, the class went exceptionally well so I actually perked up a bit.

I can't believe I actually made it to my step class! I'm ACHING!!!

I know I'm gonna sleep so well tonight!

I can't wait.

:-)

Mood Swings

Jesus, my moods have been all over the place the last couple of days.

I was really happy earlier - I was listening to music and having a bit of a boogie around my apartment.

And then I looked at the calendar and suddenly felt a bit low.

I can't believe the year's nearly over.

Everything seems to have gone so fast.

But I can't pinpoint what it is exactly which is making me feel sad.

I literally am up and down. Plus the fact I'm exhausted after 5 classes at primary school today.

Hmmmmm....

No Middle Ground

The staff room at one of my primary schools has the heating BLAZING!!

The classrooms are like ice boxes.

Do they not realise how not cool it is to go from such extremes throughout the day?!

God, I know I'm gonna get so sick!!!

It's so cold!!!

AAAAAHHHHHH

音楽が大好き！！！！！

Done and Dusted

I have absolutely no idea how I did in the JLPT.

I think the listening part actually went OK...which was a bit of a surprise...but then again when I think listenings have gone OK, I've usually got it wrong!

It wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be...but I still didn't have enough vocab or grammar to pass.

But that's OK. I wasn't expected to before I started!!

Not Bad At All

So I figured that I should do SOME studying for tomorrow's test.

So I spent this evening doing a practice test.

Remember, I haven't studied for this since September.

I found it really hard because I just don't have the vocabulary. And I haven't even seen the grammar that was in the test. I completely sucked at the listening test. Which wasn't a surprise. For some reason, no matter what the language is, listening is always my weakest point.

I did the test.

And got 53%!!!

Considering that you only need 60% to pass, I was WELL chuffed!

Because now I know that I am definitely gonna kill this shit next year!!

YATTA!!

Awesome Joke!!

My friend emailed this joke to me - LOVE IT!!!

A 16year old boy came home with a new Chevrolet Avalanche.

His parents began to yell and scream, "Where did you get that truck?!' He calmly told them 'I bought it today'.

With what money?' demanded his parents. They knew what a Chevrolet Avalanche cost.

'Well', said the boy, 'this one cost me just 15 dollars'. So the parents began to yell even louder. 'Who would sell a truck like that for 15 dollars?!' they said.

'It was the lady up the street', said the boy. 'They've just moved in. I was riding past on my bike and she asked me if I wanted to buy a Chevrolet Avalanche for 15 dollars'.

'Oh my goodness!' exclaimed the mother. 'She must be a child abuser! Who knows what she will do next! John, you go right round there and see what's going on'.

So the boy's father walked up the street to the house where the lady was in the garden, planting flowers. He introduced himself as the father of the boy to whom she had sold the Chevrolet Avanche for just 15 dollars and demanded to know why she had done it.

'Well, this morning I got a phone call from my husband. I thought he was on a business trip but I learned from a friend that he had run away to Hawaii with his mistress and doesn't plan to come back. He told me he was stranded.....'

'.....and asked me to sell his new Chevrolet Avalanche and send him the money.

'So I did'.

LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Homesickness

This has been a really long hard week.

*sigh*

I was reading my friend's blog the other day. She's very recently moved to another city and seems to be struggling. Not to fit in, but with not knowing anyone.

Moving to a new place has never been a MASSIVE deal for me. I mean, it is a big deal but I seem to be able to adapt really quickly. And I never really suffer from homesickness....I tend to miss a lot of material things about home but my friend seems to be really having problems.

It's not like she hasn't been on her own before. But when she's moved in the past, it's always been within the same area or country. Now she has been moved somewhere completely different where she knows only one person. And that person is too busy to have a social life apparently.

I think it puts a lot of pressure on that one person that she knows.

It was different for me when I came to Japan. I mean, I was alone in that I didn't know anyone, but you come over here with other people and there are loads of welcome parties and stuff where you get introduced to a lot of people. And then you start to make your own friends.

I really miss some of the people who have left. And I've been thinking about them a lot recently. I'm not sure what's triggered it off but things just feel so much different than they did a year ago. It's not necessarily bad, just different. But that's what happens with this job. People come and go every year. Nothing is ever permanent here in that respect.

i just really want some of those people back. 2 people in particular. No names - you know me!!
I really miss them and being here without them is hard sometimes. Everyone in your life here has a different 'function'. You go to different people for different things. And the types of things I would talk to those 2 people about I don't seem to be able to talk about with anyone else.

It's hard sometimes. But there's bugger all you can do about it, so you just have to suck it up.

Back to my friend.

I always thought she was a pretty strong person. But moving away has revealed just how vulnerable she really is. She misses her home like you wouldn't believe and she only left about a month ago. Still a short time I guess. I know a couple of JETs who were homesick for the first 5 or 6 months. So she will adapt eventually. It just makes me sad to read about how unhappy she is being in a new environment.

I hope she starts to feel better about things soon.

You take care honey.

xx

Young Love

I saw the most adorable thing ever today.

So I was at elementary school teaching my 3/4nensei (9/10 year olds).

We were making Christmas cards.

This little boy who is EXTREMELY stunning (and I'm not perving on him - he's just every parent's dream of what they want their child to look like) cut a heart out of origami paper and went and gave it to this girl on the other table!

AWWWWWWWWWW!!!

And then they kept exchanging these little glances and shy smiles.

And after the lesson he carried her pencil case.

AWWWWWWWWWW!!!

How cute is that!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I have worked so hard this week.

Everyday I've been so busy at school with lesson prep and I'm coming home absolutely shattered.

But I'm still making it to the gym.

Speaking of which, I'm off to my aqua class.

xx

Gossip Girl Season 2

Is it me...

...or is Chuck getting ridiculously hotter with every episode?!?!?!?!?

Hard At It

I have been hard at it all day.

Work that it.

Although I would love it to be the thing that your filthy mind interpreted it as!!!

Literally all day, bar one period, I have been doing lesson prep.

My fingers hurt from all the colouring in. But all my flashcards look good and the classes are gonna be awesome.

It's one of the occasions where every single teacher will talk to me. Because I dazzle them with my fabulous artistic skills and they just have to say something.

LOL.

But I am absolutely knackered now. I was working until after 5 and I still haven't finished. But I actually don't think I can take anymore today! So I've given up and will continue tomorrow.

So sleepy.

But I've got a whole pile of washing to do. I can't leave my gym clothes lying about.

So, back to work.

*sigh*

And So It Begins....

i bought an external last weekend so I can start to get some of my music back.

I went to a friend's house last night and sifted through his music collection. I left with about 200 songs.

Only another 6,800 to go!

Nah, I'm only kidding. I couldn't get all that music back even if I wanted to. So I'm starting from scratch.

Thing is though, some of the stuff was originally downloaded in different formats and hasn't copied over as it should have. So I have to sort that shit out and then start the massive task of filing it all.

*sigh*

Still, I'm not gonna complain. It's better than having to download it all again myself.

Thank you!!

xx

Winter Fashion

I was surprised that I still had a voice on Sunday.

I didn't get a lot of sleep because I was planning on going shopping with my girl.

And what a shop it was! Despite my plan, I still blew 5man.

I hate winter weather but I LOVE winter fashion!

Skinny jeans, knee high boots, humoungous jumpers, coats, scarves, hats gloves - LOVE IT!!!

I bought a coat for 2man. It's so thick and warm. I don't normally go for the whole fur trim thing, but I thought I'd have something different. Plus it's hard for me to find a coat that I can actually do up in the first place! I saw a gorgeous jacket and I BADLY wanted it, but over here coats seem to only come in one size and it didn't zip up past my navel. I was a bit gutted actually because I had fallen in love with it.

But the one I did buy is still cute.

I also bought this cardigan/coat thing with toggles and a hood. It will go perfectly with denim shorts, boots and my new hat.

And this week I'm going to buy a pair of massive furry boots!

They're so warm and comfy.

Yay to winter fashion!

xx

Old Skool

After the game on Saturday, we all went for dinner and then hit up a bar.

And thus started the conversation on old skool music.

Ginuwine-Pony, LL Cool J-Phenomenon, Missy Elliot-All 'N' My Grill.

Do you remember these songs?

Absolute classics for me. Especially "Pony". Dirty as hell. Fucking love it!! And anything from, Missy around the time of "All 'N' My Grill" is awesome.

It wasn't just old skool that we were talking about. Just long forgotten songs - "Oh Carolina" anyone?? Ooooh and Trina feat. Luda's "B R Right". She's a filthy one that Trina! I love her album "Diamond Princess". Not that I have it anymore following the death of my MP3 player.

Booooo!!!!

So after that, we hit up a karaoke joint. Old skool was the theme and some absolute classics came up!

I sang Chris de Burgh's "Lady in Red". God - how gorgeous is that song!

We went for a couple of hours before the boys passed out. So the 2 of us carried on, belting out rnb classics and newer songs and all the other songs that are impossible to sing and you're too embarrassed to try in front of a whole load of people.

NEVER attempt Brandy & Monica's "The Boy Is Mine"!!!!

Bur Ciara's "Goodies" sounded pretty hot.

It was 5am when we left.

Awesome!!

Basketball

On Saturday, I went to a professional basketball game...

...in KARATSU!!!

Fukuoka Rizing vs. Sendai 89ers.

I was so excited for this calibre of players to be coming to such a little 田舎 town.

And the locals didn't know what to do about it! They were so quiet but eventually got into it. To be honest, it was hard not to. It was so damn close from start to finish, the whole thing had you on edge. They got a couple of dunks in there too.

Not to mention the amount of eyecandy. I went with another girl and 2 guys. LOL- it you take the actual basketball game out of the equation, you see what events like this are like for guys and girls. The guys were making their assesment of the cheerleaders while we were making a VERY detailed assesment of the players.

And Fukuoks Rizing has some very tasty players indeed! Turns out though that out of the ones I like, one is a playboy and the other 2 are very committed.

Doh!

Speaking of eye candy, I just HAVE to talk about this one cheerleader. No, she wasn't incredibly hot. The extreme opposite! In fact, I felt sorry for her because she was an eyesore. LOL! I'm not even sure I can find the words to describe her face without being incredibly offensive so I think I'll leave it at that! The people I went with know what I mean.

Awesome game. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy watching basketball games (outside of watching my students play). Definitely will be hitting a few more up next year.

Catching Up

On Friday, I went out and caught up with a friend I haven't seen for a while.

Well, it wasn't that I hadn't seen him for a while....more like we haven't spent any one-on-one time together for a while.

It was so nice to catch up. Mainly because he is the one person over here who's more on my level. And one of the 3 people I've met over here who I know I would actually be friends with back home.

We spent a bit of time talking about this actually. Despite the amount of people that you meet and call your friends here, very few of them would be in your life if you were back home. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just an inevitability (is that even a word?!) of the situation that we find ourselves in over here.

But with him, our paths would definitely cross back in our home countries. Mainly because we're both really into music.

Anyways, it was just seriously awesome to have that one-on-one catch up. It's important to do that sometimes because people really do behave differently in a crowd.

Take the time to do it people!

Loads of love

Jade xx

Knackered

God, i was knackered when I woke up this morning. And I've had a banging headache for 2 days.

I swear if I was allowed to sleep continuously, I wouldn't wake up for at least 24 hours. I would say longer but realistically? Nah.

The last week has actually been really busy. I've been out the house and doing stuff everyday for the last 10 days. And I didn't realise the effect it was having on my wallet.

So once again, I'm broke. And it's another 3 weeks until payday.

Bollocks.

I Can't Feel My Toes....

.....and I'm wearing tights and 2 pairs of socks.

:-(

For God's Sake!!!

It's absolutely FREEZING in school!!!

I haven't taken my jacket or scarf off all week.

And today, one of my teachers grinned and me and told me that they would be turning on the heating in the staff room from next week. He then punched the air.

The heating should already be on. I think the sight of all the teachers shivering and clutching onto their cups of tea for dear life should be a bit of a hint.

I hate the way this country abides by dates. The heating can't be turned on until a certain date - despite the fact that it is colder than it was last November. Just like the air con can't be put on until a certain date in the summer. Despite the fact that everyone is dripping with sweat.

Why can't they just pay attention to the weather?

If it's cold on a summer evening, you put on a jacket. You don't just freeze coz it's the summer and you're not sposed to need a jacket.

It's exactly the same thing!!

I guess I should be grateful I'll get to sit in a heated room at all. Unlike the poor kids who freeze their arses off coz of the lack of heating and the strict uniform rules. I shiver just looking at my elementary kids in their little shorts.

Insanity.

What a Session

I just got back from the gym.

And I'm absolutely knackered!!!

My aerobics class turned into step for the last half hour and my aqua class worked my arms even MORE than usual and now they are seriously aching.

I'm eating a lot before I go to my classes to make sure I don't burn off anything that's already there.

I was off school last week and this week all I'm getting from the teachers is comments about my weight loss.

Apparently my face has serious definition now.

Huh! Like it's a bad thing to have cheekbones!!!

Plan B

So if shit blows up in Thailand, I have a Plan B.

I will fly into Cambodia, bus it over to Laos and then bus it to the northern part of Vietnam and fly back from Hanoi.

I said I wanted to go back and finish Vietnam.

Maybe I'll have the chance now!

Whether it's Thailand or Vietnam, I will still be on the beach!

But for now, I'm just keeping a close eye on the news. I'll wait and see what happens in Bangkok and then make a decision by the end of next week.

Yay!

Just My Luck

It's just one thing after another, I swear!!

I finally got my arse in gear last week and booked my holiday to Thailand.

And what happens?

The airport is closed!

Damn those protesters!!

I just hope it all gets sorted out. But I'm looking for alternative destinations just in case.

Which is a bit shitty coz I was totally set on the whole Thailand, Laos, Cambodia trip. I guess I could just do Laos and Cambodia.....

ARGH!

Time Flies

I can't believe that next week it's gonna be December.

HOW fast has the year gone?!

It's like Christmas ha suddenly crept up on me. And I only realised when I was going through my diary and saw that in 3 weeks I'm gonna be in Thailand! Absolutely insane!

Saying that though, the summer does seem like such a long time ago...

I wanna do my Xmas shopping in London!!!!!

:-(

Work It Baby!!

LOL I was such a retard in my step class today!

Some of those moves are HARD!!

And I was completely dripping with sweat!

Nice!

I caught a glimpse in the mirror. I have a 6 pack!!! It's not like super defined or anything, but it is definitely there! I was like 'Where did that come from?!'

I've only been doing aerobics classes. I never realised I was working my stomach muscles so much!

But it's alllll good.

Now I'm just concentrating on putting all that weight back on.

Not A Chance in Hell

Is it bad that I'm not studying for the JLPT?

In fact, I stopped studying for it about a week after I applied to take it.

I was so busy with school prep during the day and too tired in the evening to study.

Not to mention what's been happening recently.

Even if I was to cram everyday for the next 2 weeks, I still wouldn't stand a chance of passing.

So I'm not even going to bother.

The only reason I'm still taking the test is because I've already paid for it. So I may as well see how I do. I already know that I will fail so it's not like I'm gonna be disappointed when the results come out.

But I will start studying for it again from February next year.

And next time, I'm gonna ace it.

EEUUUWWWW!!!

MyJHS has tests this week so I have been in the staff room all morning.

Yawn.

All the teachers were typing away on their laptops. And then suddenly I heard this noise.

Click. Click.

It started to get really annoying so I turned around to see what it was.

There was a teacher clipping his nails at his desk.

Now, for me, that in itself is bad enough. But then I noticed that he was using ordinary clippers - not even the ones that collect the nail clippings!

Gross!

Isn't this something that you should do within the confines of your own home?!

I guess I should be grateful it wasn't someone clipping their toenails!

Retail Therapy

Nothing like shopping to get you back on track!

Although, I have been really good.

I went to the Tosu Outlets yesterday. It was absolutely rammed.

And all I bought was a hat!!!

LOL!!

And then I went to Saga's Youme town today...and only bought a bag.

I'm not surprised though - I generally don't buy a lot when I go to Youme town.

Just saving it all for a good session in Fukuoka next weekend!

Oh, and I have decided to buy an ipod nano. I really like the design more than the other MP3 players. And although the biggest size is only 16GB, I've decided to just rotate the songs that I put on it.

My iriver had 7000 songs on it. But I was thinking about how many of those I actually listened to. I guess I just liked having the OPTION of listening to them whenever I like.

But a nano is cheap and it looks good. So I think I will buy one.

Closure

I finally got what I needed.

Closure.

And now I feel like I can move on.

Now I can start to be OK.

Thank you for your support.

xx

Consequences

I had to go to the hospital today to get a letter coz I've had so much time of school.

Well, taking sick leave has come right round to bite me in the arse!!

After listing a few fake symptoms to the nurse, she took my temperature and a blood test.

Turns out I'm spiking a fever at 38.1 and have a mild bacterial infection!!!!!

And I didn't even know!!

That'll teach me!

It's Long Distance's Fault

The strength has gone.

Now I am just hurting. Really bad.

Seeing the words down on the page. I have lost my boyfriend. It's like it's just hit me.

That's it - he's not here anymore. And I didn't even get to see him.

That is what I hate the most. We have gone through this split. Over the phone.

There was no seeing him for one last time. That really hurts.

Long distance ruins everything. I tried but I feel like a fool for thinking that it would work. Because it never seems to.

You have to work so, so hard. And we did. But long distance inevitably forces change upon people. And those changes are sometimes good, sometimes bad.

I struggled from the beginning. The sense of loss just became stronger and stronger for me. Everyone told me that it would get easier but it never did. Everyday I just seemed to miss him more and more. I would ache to see him.

It went downhill from the moment I left. Feeling myself get more and more unhappy, I tried so hard because I didn't want to lose him. I DON'T want to lose him. I didn't want this to end. Not oin the slightest. I would have done anything for him. But looking at the person I was becoming. I hated it. Constantly worrying and upset. And just feeling so low every single day that I couldn't see him.

I didn't sleep at all last night. I dozed off at maybe 5.30am. I was just lying there - too shocked and sad to cry. Just reliving all our memories. Most of the trips I've been on since I've been here have been with him. He is an amazing travel buddy - because it's so easy to travel with him. Because he can stand up and tell me what he wants to do (only in this area though!!!). There's none of that polite, holding back stuff where people constantly say they don't mind when they really do.

I'm gutted to lose that. So gutted.

The pain that I know I will have to go through is scaring the shit out of me. I don't want to feel it.

I miss him so much already.

It's Over

It finally happened.

I split up with my boyfriend.

The last month has been pure heartache for me. I hit a point that I have never been before in my entire life. My heart is broken and I'm scared about the length of time that it's going to take to fix it.

But now I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Why?

Because now I know EXACTLY where I stand. Now I don't have to worry. Now I don't have to wonder why he's not answering my calls, what he's doing and who he's doing it with. I don't have to be brutally quizzed every time I go to a bar or a club about who I went with and what I did.

We were dating for nearly 15 months.

My longest relationship.

He turned me into a softie. I completely let me guard down and I gave him my heart. Anyone who knows me knows how much I loved this man.

We have fantastic memories. He became my best friend, my travel partner. He was the guy I wanted to marry.

And then he left. He moved away and everything changed. I saw him a lot at first. And then he became busy and I became broke.

Obviously the reasons for the split run a lot deeper than this. But they're reason I don't wish to divulge. Because they're private.

We're both sad. I only recently realised this had to happen. The heartache was killing me to a point where I couldn't even keep my food down and I burst into tears in the middle of a lesson. I couldn't go on like that. It would kill me. I stepped on the scales at the gym today for the first time since.....maybe I started?

I was 58kilos when I joined the gym.

I'm 53kilos now.

I know I know!!!! But it wasn't intentional. And I promise you that I will be doing everything I can to put the weight back on. I've been so low over the last month and it's affected every aspect of my life.

But now I feel that I have some kind of closure. But that does not mean that I'm not upset.

Because I am.

I said before. My heart is broken. He did this to me. I'm scared of the pain. It hurts so much.

I need your help and support to fix it. I can't do it by myself. And seeing it all down in writing has made me realise how real all of this is.

And now it's really starting to hurt.

Heartache

The way that I feel now is something I have never experienced in my entire life.

Pure heartbreak.

It hurts so much. Like, physically hurts. I can't eat, sleep, I constantly feel sick.

How the hell do people cope with this?

Fuck men - no one is having my heart again.

:-(

MySpace

I have FINALLY updated my MySpace page.

After 1 year!!

Here it is

www.myspace.com/jademfreeman

I was actually a little bit disappointed when I was updating. MySpace is totally turning into Facebook. Or the other way around - whatever. So I didn't bother doing too much to it!!

But take a look anyway!

xx

寒い！！！！！

Jesus!!!

How COLD is it today?!

I'm in class wearing my coat and scarf and my whole body is shivering.

Man I feel so sorry for the kids. The girls aren't even allowed to wear tights!! In a classroom with no heating?! It just seems so cruel.

They're all sitting there with blankets on their laps and the little hand warmers ( i really need to buy some of those when I get paid).

Over the last couple of weeks, the temperature has just dropped. The heating is constantly on in my apartment but I'm refraining from using the kotatsu or electric blanket just yet. Because I know what December-February is like. And if I start using them now, I will struggle like hell with the cold when it gets even worse.

It just makes it so damn hard to get up in the morning!!!

Reactions

So you may or may not have noticed that at the end of each post there are 'Reactions'.

LMAO, HAVE A HUG and GOOD STUFF

It's basically to generate more feedback because no one ever leaves any comments!!!

So if you just take a sec to quickly click on one of the reactions after you read the entry, that would be awesome!! Obviously, if none of them apply, then don't!!

It's funny coz with blogs you really don't know how people are responding to you. I've said before I get a bit of feedback via facebook. But this seems like a quick way to see if I'm making you guys laugh, cry or just feel sorry for me!! LOL!!!

Not that the reactions are gonna make a difference to anything I write!! I'm just curious!!

xx

Vietnam

At the end of October/beginning of November I went to Vietnam for 5 days.

Before I went, I didn't know a damn thing about that country. As in literally NOTHING.

What a fantastic place. I only got to go to Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City as it's now called) because I went for such a short time, but I would definitely like to go back and see the rest of the country.

So let me start with the nightlife - completely unimpressed. Every club and every bar was like a meat market. No one seemed to be there just to enjoy themselves and listen to music. It was also really weird because every time a guy came and talked to me or my friend, it's like they automatically launch an attack on whatever country you're from (if it's different to theirs) and you find yourself on the defence. Wankers.

Next, the food. The most popular food in Vietnam is Pho Bo. This is it. Now don't get me wrong, it is really good. And the taste can vary so much depending on what you put in it, but to be honest I think it's totally overrated!! I had such a big build up to it as well!!

The transport. I've never seen so mnay bikes on the road in my life. There are few cars but MILLIONS of bikes. The first time we had to cross the road took us God knows how long - there are crossings, but no lights!! So you basically have to leg it whenever you can. Or wait for someone else to go first and then use them as a human shield. LOL - we got pretty good at doing that.

The history of the country is amazing. Without a doubt the War Remnants Musuem and the Cu Chi Tunnels proved to be the most difficult viewing.



The first picture is an example of some of the traps that were used to capture soldiers on the Cu Chi battlefields. It was absolutely pouring with rain when we went there (hence the extremely fashionable attire in the second picture) and it kind of put this mood over the whole scene.

The second pic is me firing an AK-47. Yep, no joke. I was so excited about having such a big gun in my hands I wasn't ready for how powerful ir really was, and after firing the first shot, I was forced backwards. And even with the headphones on, my ears were still ringing afterwards.

The third pic is from the War Remnants Musuem. These are the 'Tiger Cages' where the French colonists held and tortured prisoners. Seeing the descriptions and images of the tortures were absolutely horrible. For example, they would strap a prisoner down, put a bandage over the nose, shove a tube down there throat, and pump their stomach full of water. They would then stamp on the stomach and watch and laugh as blood and water came exploding through the prisoner's nose.

Vietnam has amazing silk. If you ever want anything silk, that is the place to get it. I got a couple of dresses made for me and they're absolutely gorgeous and were really cheap. I just LOVED the feel of the silk on my skin.

Good stuff.

Slurpers

STOP SLURPING YOUR DAMN TEA!!!!

I've been so desperate to shriek this at the teacher who sits 2 desks down from me.

I don't want to be mean to him coz he's actually really nice and is one of the few who slows his Japanese down so that I can understand him.

But damn when that guy is drinking his tea I wanna thump him.

He slurps so loudly with every sip. And then goes 'aaahhhhhhh' after EVERY sip.

It is so annoying!!!

And ever since then, I've started to notice how much the other teachers slurp too.

It's tormenting me!!

もうー

Christmas

I love planning trips.

I love travelling.

So I'm in the process of planning my Christmas trip. I'm gonna go Thailand, Laos and Cambodia - in that order.

So it will be Thailand for Xmas and Cambodia for NYE.

I was thinking about going just to Thailand but they're all so close and easy to get to, I figured I may as well do them all. I've already done Vietnam so it makes sense to finish off that whole area.

How exciting!!

Now I just have to wait til payday to pay for the damn thing!

Goodnight

xx

Hungry, Hungry, Hungry!!

OMG I can't wait until payday so I can buy me some stuff to actually cook with!!!!

I'm been looking at all these yummy recipes online and they are making my mouth WATER!!!

Especially all the cake recipes.

Mmmmmmm........cake.

I'm gonna stuff my face.

オヤスミ

Don't you just love the thrill of doing something that you totally shouldn't be?

Goodnight

;-)

Lazy Sunday

I have done absolutely bugger all today.

Except for sleeping and watching Arrested Development. So glad to finally have my hands on Season 3.

I was supposed to meet a friend for lunch but I am properly BROKE. As in I have 1000yen to last me until payday. So eating out is out of the equation.

I can't wait till payday. There's so much stuff I need to buy. The first being my external so I can start getting all my music back.

Actually there's loads of stuff I want. But I should save the money to pay for my Christmas trip. I really do need to book that soon....

And I totally can't be arsed to go to school tomorrow either. OMG - I actually have a full week of classes this week!! BOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Smiling Again

I had a blindin night last night.

I put on a cute lil hot pink dress, went into town...

...and danced my arse off!!

I was so tired getting the first train back though. Prob coz I was still a bit drunk as well.

I got on the train and this fool sat down next to me. My Japanese is good enough now so I basically told him that I wasn't in the mood to talk and asked him to move away.

Jesus the guy did not give up!! I was like seriously!!!! Why do I get all the weird ones. So I decided to pretend that I didn't understand anything he said. That didn't work either coz the shit that kept coming out of his mouth just made me snigger.

It was all the crap like 'Oh I think I love you', 'Your hair is so cool' and all that bullshit.

*sigh*

It was soooo annoying!! I just wanted to chill out on the train ride back. I gave up being polite and just turned around and said in English...

'Seriously, just fuck off'

LOL!!! He looked so surprised he got up and sat somewhere else! Not before he tried to kiss my cheek though. Dickhead.

Made me giggle though.

Hehe!

Ciao Ciao

I'm about to leave to go Fukuoka.

And I am dressed to kill!!!

Have a good night sweeties!!

Ciao ciao

xx

Seriously Hot Legs

All these classes I'm doing at the gym are really paying off. So is the swimming.

My legs are looking even more toned than usual. And are getting REALLY strong and defined.

The classes I do at the gym are aerobics, step aerobics and aqua aerobics.

The aqua aerobics is doing wonders for toning my arms.

When I can, I go to another aerobics class which isn't at the gym and is seriously intense. It leaves me DRENCHED in sweat. What I don't like about that class is that it's not in a gym so there are no shower facilities. Nice!

But I am still stuffing my face with whatever crap I can lay my hands on to make sure that I don't lose weight.

I told you this before - I wanna tone up and get fit. Not lose weight. Not that I've actually stepped on the scales to check.

I really enjoy going to these classes. The old women in them are soooo cute. And today in the step class I actually saw a couple of people I know. This woman made me feel bad in the changing room afterwards because she said that she felt so embarrassed standing next to me because her whole body was going south. If you know what I mean. I told her not to be stupid. At least she wasn't making a retard of herself with the simple step moves!!!

LOL!!!!

Rain

I hate the rain.

It just puts a damper on your mood.

But what I hate more...

...is going out in the rain. But I learnt my lesson - never bother with your hair!! LOL!!

So yah, I hate going out in the rain but I'm gonna do it anyway. I spent last night at a friend's house watching movies and I watched another one today.

So it's definitely time to get my groove on!!!

xx

Just Here

I don't really have much to say today.

It's just been one of those days where there's been nothing really on my mind (for a change) and I'm just feeling really tired and glad it's the weekend.

This like week has been an emotional rollercoaster. And don't get me wrong, the feelings are still there...but I think I may be emotionally exhausted.

So glad it's the weekend and I get a couple of days to chill out and try and get shit sorted.

The MP3 Debate

There is a new contender...

...the Microsoft Zune

http://www.zune.net/en-us/products/zuneplayers/zune80gb/features.htm

Check it out...

The features are incredible...although I know I don't need them all.

I've read loads of reviews on this one and it is being compared to the iPOD classic.

Let me know what you think!

Go Away!

For just one minute I don't wanna have to feel this pain.

I'm seriously suffering! Normally when I have a prob I get to forget about it while I'm teaching.

But this pain is constantly there. I'm in the classroom and it's like a robot is there - not me. Because even as I'm speaking, I'm thinking. And then I always feel like crying.

It's actually CONSTANT pain.

And it's killing me.

Don't you hate it when....

...someone is SO BLATANTLY lying to you?

It's like, they know they're lying, you know their lying but they carry on protesting that they're not and there's nothing that you can do to prove that they are. It's just a feeling that you have....but it's not a suspicion..YOU KNOW.

It's one of the most frustrating situations to be in. Normally, if it was just a suspicion, you would have to take the bait and trust that what they are telling you is the truth. Because you have no other choice. But when you KNOW someone is lying, it's so hard to reveal to them that you know they are because it would involve breaking someone else's confidence.

No wonder people find it hard to trust people like this.

iPOD vs iRIVER

The new iRIVER is SICK!!!!

I remember when I first got mine 4 years ago, I was having the same debate. The iRIVER won by a mile.

And I think it will again!!

I'm looking for a new mp3 player. 60-80gb. And as usual it's the iPOD-iRIVER battle.

The iRIVER has a better battery life. I have read literally hundreds of reviews and haven't seen a single one to say the contrary. What I really like about the iRIVER is that you can control everything from a remote. For me that is so handy because you can just clip it onto your jacket and never need to touch the main player.

But I like the look of the iPOD. I always have done. I just hate the controls - that annoying circle control thingy just does my nut. At the same time I have never been a fan of Apple. Doesn't mean that I wouldn't give it a go though.

I love that fact that the iRIVER stores data in more than one format. Has the iPOD caught up with this? I also want a colour screen and be able to play awesome music videos.

I'm interested in people's opinions on this! So if you have a 20gb+ iPOD or iRIVER, let me know what you think!!!

Another Weird Sighting

LOL - why do I keep seeing really weird stuff?

I was leaving the BOE office and I saw the guy that was supposed to be fixing the drinks machine lying face down on the floor.

And then I realised he was doing press ups!!! In the entrance to the office?! He heard my heels and sprung up and began doing whatever he was sposed to be doing to the machine in the first place.

He looked so guilty, I couldn't help but snigger!!

But he was on the hefty side so trying to fit a bit of exercise in wherever possible isn't a bad thing I guess!!

Weird eh?

Ah man

I'm all ready but I totally don't wanna got ot school today.

I'm scared that what happened on Monday will happen again today. Actually, I'm pretty sure it will because I'm already starting to feel sick.

And I only have 2 lessons this morning. Which means that I have time to think in the spare periods.

Uh-oh

This Is For You Girl

This is a message just for Tori.

She says she's going through an emotional turmoil with me.

That's because I'm going through an emotional turmoil!! A complete headfuck.

But I did forget to blog about something I saw on Sunday.

It's really gross though. So it's not really the happy note you wanted girl but it will def make you go EEUUUUWWWWW

So I was on the bus in Fukuoka stuck in traffic. You know how you just look around and stuff.....and I ended up looking down into the car that was driving along next to the bus.

There was a guy in there fiddling with something in his lap. I was like 'Damn, he's seriously struggling there....'

And then the traffic moved on and as he put both hands on the steering wheel, I saw it....

....and erect penis!!

The dirty bastard was having a wank in his car!!!! As soon as the traffic stopped again he was back at it. I was twisting my face in disgust when he looked up and saw me. And then the fool tried to drive off and moved a couple of centimetres forward...duh...you're stuck in traffic and I can STILL see you!!!

I mean , seriously!!!! He couldn't wait?!?!

That image has haunted me since. And still makes me twist my face up in disgust.

LOL - not exactly a happy note but not a depressing one either!!!!

Where Did You Go?!

I always thought that I was a really strong person.

But the events of late have broken me.

Everyone always says that it's gonna hurt for a long time before things even remotely seem to be getting better.

So looks like I'm going to be broken for a long time.

Nothing seems to be able to take my mind of stuff. Not even temporarily.

It HURTS.

US Shows

I am completely up to date with:

House
Prison Break
Gossip Girl
Heroes
Ugly Betty
How I Met Your Mother

How crazy is it that I'm watching so many shows at the same time? And I get so impatient waiting for each new episode. LOL - I should really check when they're being aired.

The problem with these shows?

There isn't a single one that doesn't remind of something that I'm going through right now. Whether it's a problem I'm having, whether it's how I want things to be, something I want, something I've already experienced.

Everything right now just seems to remind me of this shitty time that I'm going through. Every one of those sitcoms has made me cry. Well, actually the latest episode of How I Met Your Mother didn't....wait...yeh it did.

For some reason I thought smoking might help. I took one drag and was sick. I forget how much I hate them. I really do.

I feel so empty inside.

But I know I can find the strength. It will just take a bit of time that's all.

Don't feel sorry for me. It's not the kind of support I need.

Although, I'm not sure what I need right now.

Just don't feel sorry for me.

I'll whoop your arse!

Thank You.....

....for your support.

You know who you are.

xx

Is heartache making me sick?!?!

During this morning I was unable to take my mind of my personal problems.

That never happens - normally teaching is the perfect distraction.

But not this time.

I spent all 4 periods this morning feeling nauseous as hell. And then when it got to lunch time, I walked into the staff room, smelt the food and ran to the toilet and threw up.

I got taken to the nurse's room and told to lie down during lunch. They took my temperature and the like and then...asked me if I wanted to do a pregnancy test!!! I was like..er no...I'll be fine.

I was then given the option to go home coz I'd finished all my classes for the day. As crazy as it may sound, I declined. I told them if I went home I would sleep for too long and then wouldn't be able to sleep later. What a lame excuse.

The truth of the matter is, if I went home, I would spend the whole afternoon thinking. And given my current state of mind, that would be a disaster. Everytime I'm home, I manage to wind myself up in a state. Even now I have this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I can't eat and I'm not sleeping well either.

I need my London friends here. I'm not strong enough to get through this on my own.

The pain is too much.

And I swear it's killing me inside. Organ by organ.

Is it worth it?

I swear down...

NOTHING is worth this much heartache.

:'(

YATTA!!!

I am so ridiculously proud of my speech contest kids.

My 2nensei and my 3nensei both came first.

And EVERYONE is talking about my 2nensei. I saw her perform at the end and she just blew me away. She had my British accent spot on. People knew she was my student the minute she said the word 'can't'.

LOL.

I really hope my schools with change the schedule around so I can see them perform in the prefectural contest!!

SO SO PROUD

:D

Well that didn't last long!!

After just one day of respecting Americans, they have lost it!!!

Californians have banned gay marriage....it wasn't even that long since the law was passed that homosexuals could marry!!!

And there I was thinking how open minded Americans had become by putting a black man in power.

Instead, they're just picking on someone else.

Back to hating!!

*sigh*

Obama

I wasn't able to tear myself away from the internet..whenever I wasn't in a lesson that is.

By lunchtime, Obama already had 297 electoral votes.

I could feel myself well up. I'm not even American, but this is a truly significant day in world history.

And it has also changed my opinions of Americans. I think this is the same for a lot of people.

I just can't believe. A black man is the most powerful man in the world. A BLACK man!!!!!

Although, I was speaking to my brother earlier and he echoed what a lot of articles have been saying. White supremist groups voted Obama. Because they know that things are going to get worse before they get better. And during the shitty period, they are going to place the blame on Obama.

I was reading articles online about people who have labelled Obama as the 'black Jesus'. They were reports of people (especially African Americans) who honestly believe that now Obama is President, all their problems are just going to magically disappear.

Pressure? Just a bit!

But I am so excited for America right now. They have taken a massive step to rectify the mess that Bush has created during his 8 years in office.

I wish him well.

xx

Okinawa

When people think of Japan, they think of Tokyo. Loads of people, fashion and electronics.
Okinawa is the other side of Japan. This is me on Yokomaehama Beach, Miyako-jima. This is the No.1 beach in Japan and it's not difficult to see why. With its gorgeous white sands and clear turquoise water, it is hard to believe that this is part of Japan.


We spent 5 days on the island. There really isn't very much there except for sugar cane fields and beaches. It's not the kind of place that you go to if you want vibrant nightlife - the bars here are small and the club we went to was supposedly busy...with less than 30 people inside.

I have to hand it to Okinawa though - the people are so laid back and chilled. This is so rare to see in Japan and it just made the time there so relaxing!!

I would definitely love to go back and try out one of the other islands. While we were in Miyako-jima, we did a few water sports, including parasailing, snorkelling and windsurfing. The latter I totally sucked at...but it was good fun anyway!!

I'm gonna post the rest of the pics on Facebook, so you can check the album out there!

MP3

So the latest on my MP3....

....I got to Hong Kong, plugged it in......and...

NOTHING!!!!!

So I have to start all over from scratch. All 7000 songs. It's gonna take forever to download.

But I'm not so angry anymore. I mean, don't get me wrong, I AM still pissed but I've decided to look at it as a cleansing of my music collection.

And trying not to think about the irreplaceable stuff.

*sigh*

:-(

You have no iidea how depressed I am about my iriver buggering up.

:-((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

I have one last hope. I'm going to Vietnam tomorrow and I have to transfer in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong uses the same plug socket as the UK....so I'm planning to run around that airport till I find one. And then I will know for sure whether it's the battery or whether it's this stupid Japanese plugs. If it charges, I'm not gonna use it - I'm gonna save the battery and then as soon as I get back to Japan, I'm gonna buy 2 4GB memory sticks and back up ALL of my music. I don't care how long it takes. If it doesn't charge...I'm gonna cry my eyes out.

I'm soooooo saaaaaadddddddddd.

WWWAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!

MY MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GRRRRRAAARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously fucked off!!!!

I can't charge my MP3 player!!!!

I've been having issues charging it for a couple of months now. It's like, you have to have the adapter at a certain angle for it to work - does anyone else have this problem?!

But today NOTHING is working. I've had it for 4 years so I'm wondering if the battery has completely packed up.

I am FUCKING MAD AND UPSET AS HELL!!! I have more than 7000 songs on that thing!! And people KNOW how much music means to me!!!

Not only can I not afford to buy a new player, but I will lose soooo much music that I won't be able to retrieve. Like complilation albums I made without knowing the names of any of the songs - just who they were by. And compliation albums my DJ friends made for me which have no breaks in between the songs. These are completely irreplaceable. And there are so many of them!!! There were so many I couldn't veen back them all up.

And now I've lost them forever.

GUTTED.

:'(

One Crazy Bitch

So I told you about my friend stalkin her man.

The girl is actually insane.

First yesterday, she sends me a message to tell me that on one of her phone snooping ventures, she found out that he met a girl when he told her he was at home in bed. She was frantic.

In a way I am a bit disappointed that he turned out to be a liar. BUT, I told her that's what she gets for snooping. It happens sooner or later I guess - you find the wrong thing and can't do anything about it. Then it's time for the relationship to end.

Then about 10 mins ago I got a call from her. She said her man had changed his email password and she couldn't figure out what it is!!!!!

I'm to blame for that. Her man called me yesterday just to see how I was. I told him so story about my friend who had his email address hacked and how I changed my password and he prob should too. I know it's not my business but my friend freaks me out. And...I don't know.....but anyway, I kinda told him he should change his password and make it hard to guess.

Looks like he did. And my friend has actually hit the point of insanity. She told me she cancelled lunch with her friend so that she could try and work out what the password was. She even went so far as to try and guess the answer to a secret question. Like you know when you forget a password you get redirected to that page that asks you something so you can reset it? That's what she tried to do. Except apparently the secret question is related to his home address or something. I didn't really get what she was babbling on about. Either way, it's information that she can't get hold of and she's going crazy bout it.

You know what she said? She asked me what would happen if he changes his other passwords!! Because then she wouldn't be able to reset them without access to his email account!!!!!!!!

I had to shout to interrupt her and asked her if she had any idea what she sounded like?! I was telling a friend yesterday that she must have mental issues. Right? I mean, no one's insecurity runs that deep...

...right?

Then she tried to...what's the word...turn me into her? Nah..not that..hmmmm......anyway she kept questioning me about my man and what he gets up to and do I think he sees other girls and all this shit. I got sooooo mad!!! I told her she was one crazy bitch and not to even attempt to make me think in the same way that she does.

For a split second, I did wonder. And then I chided myself because truthfully, I don't think that people EVER really know EVERYTHING that their man or girl gets up to. And sometimes, ignorance is bliss. Not ALL the time - it doesn't mean that you should turn a blind eye if something is going on but you don't have to poke around so deep till you find something wrong.

Stupid cow. She wanted to stay at my house during her visit. Hell no!!! The minute my back is turned she would be snooping for the sake of it. But I've already decided that when her trip here is done, so are we. I don't need friends like that.

She's just...weird.

After School

Teachers always tell me how tired I must being going back to my middle school at the end of the day just to help with the speech contest.

But to be honest, I quite like it!

Because I have so many schools, I don't get that time to talk to my middle school students so much. And let's face it, you can only take the conversation with a primary school student so far.

So for me, it's great. I always hang around when I'm done with the speech contest kids. And other kids are more than happy to talk to me because they know I have the time for them.

Makes me kind of sad that I don't get to interact with them more. But at the same time, I like the diversity that constantly changing schools brings. I wouldn't be able to stand it if I was spending a whole day at one school.

So it's all good really!!

Paranoia

I recently met my friend's boyfriend.

We were all out having coffee and he went to the toilet. The minute his back was turned, my friend reached for his phone and frantically started checking his messages.

WWHHHHAAAATTTT??? I was so horrified my jaw dropped. When I asked her what she was doing, she admitted she was checking his messages. I asked her if she thought he was cheating on her and she said 'No, but it doesn't hurt to check'.

I couldn't believe it. For absolutely no reason she was invading her man's privacy. I thought going through his phone was bad enough. And then she revealed to me that she checks his Facebook, his blog and his emails!! I asked her if he gave her the passwords and she said that she had spent a day figuring them all out. I was staring at her dumbfounded. I was thinking that she was an obsessive control freak. I would never have thought that she could be THAT insecure. Her man came back so I didn't have a chance to talk to her about it further.

The revelation made me really uncomfortable. It actually freaks me out a little bit to know someone who is so...what's the word? Paranoid? I swear she's bordering on stalking the poor guy. They were sitting across the table from me. Happy as anything. How appearances are deceiving! I couldn't help but look at her and think 'You manipulative cow. How can you invade his privacy on every possible level like that when he's done NOTHING to warrant it?'

Then I started thinking. If I thought my man was cheating on me, would I check his phone? She doesn't even think he's doing anything wrong. She's checking for the sake of....what? Knowing EVERYTHING he's doing?! I don't understand. I don't think I would WANT to see what's in the phone. I mean, if you find nothing, wouldn't you feel like shit for distrusting that person in the first place? And then if you do find something - what are you gonna do about it? If my man confronted me about something he'd found while going through my phone, despite what he may have found, the initial act alone would be enough for me to dump him because I would NEVER be able to trust him not to do it again. And I'm sure that he would do the same.

Everyone is entitled to a bit of personal space. For a lot of people that is their phone, email etc. Everyone should be allowed that. The thought of someone reading through all my messages and mails sends a horrible feeling of intrusion down my spine. I mean, are you really in love with someone if you're behaving like that? It's actually really scary.....can you be THAT in love that it would drive you to that? Or is that kind of behaviour triggered by mental instability or just insecurity?

It's a hard one. But I don't understand what she's doing. It's even made me nervous to leave things like my phone or even my organiser around her. Not that there's anything incriminating in them but I hate the thought that she might look for the sake of it. It's weird. Her man is such a nice guy and doesn't deserve to be treated like that.

But..BUT the best bit about all of this.....is she's dealing with another guy!!!!!!! First class hypocrisy!!!!!

And then it made sense. The reason she does what she does is because she thinks coz she's behaving badly, then there's a possibility her man might be as well. She doesn't believe that he is but she wants to check that he ISN'T.

Makes me sick.

Loving or Playing?

I miss the playing days.

That's not to say that I don't like being in a relationship.

But being single...the ease of it all. The fun. The excitement. The no strings attached. The 'I can do what I want, when I want with who I want' attitude that goes with being single.

Do you know what I miss most about the playing days?

No heartache.

Just Living? Or LIVING Living?

I was thinking today.

Just about life.

Everyday I got o work. I'm doing this job which isn't really a career for me - just something to pass the time. On average, I go on a trip twice a month. Every month, I blow every penny of my salary. i'm learning something new everyday.

But am I LIVING? I don't know. Today I've just been in this daze. Like a routine. I'm not like woohoo happy. But I'm not unhappy. I'm just.....here. Sometimes I feel like I know exactly what I'm doing. Other times, I haven't got a clue. I am just here. Doing these things. Day after day.

That's not LIVING right? That's just EXISTING. But I don't feel like I'm just EXISTING because I DO things. But at the same time, I feel like I'm missing something. Something that would make everything perfect. Well, that wouldn't be just SOMETHING. That would be a lot of things.

It's so hard to actually measure the extent of one's happiness. Different things make different people happy. What makes me happy? Well, right now - travelling. After that, I don't really know. You pursue things that you think will make you happy, only to discover they do the opposite.

And I read back over this and realise that I have made no sense. Gomen.

It's just my stream of thought.

Kanji

I'm absolutely useless at studying for the JLPT.

I planned to study for 4 hours this morning. 1 hour and 20 kanji later, I was reading a book instead.

I'm running out of time for this. Yet that still doesn't seem to be a kick up the arse for me.

Maybe because I've already resigned myself to the fact that I don't have a chance in hell of passing.

Positive thinking, I know!!

H&M

I was in Tokyo at the weekend and I went shopping in Ginza. A H&M has recently opened there so I thought I'd check it out.

The queue to get inside was ridiculous. I guess it's something new to the Japanese. And people were getting in a frenzy because there were some famous actors and volleyball players there.

Inside was a nightmare. Each floor was so small and narrow and rammed with people. If I wanted to try something on, I didn't even think about going to the changing room. I just stripped there and then.

I don't even got o H&M back home. I don't even like that store. Yet, here in Japan I still managed to spend over 100 quid there. Which actually goes a long way in this kind of cheap store.

You know what I think it is? I can buy clothes labelled 'small'.

LOL

xx

Finally Catching a Break

Luck was on my side this morning.

I woke up, completely exhausted. And the last thing I felt like was 4 morning lessons at a school I hate, with the dumbest kids known to man and unhelpful teachers.

I debated calling in sick about 3 times as I was getting ready. But with all this transfer stuff looming over my head, I decided that now is not the time for me to be pulling sickies.

So I went in and I had my 2 5nensei classes. Which went well because the teacher was organized, had done all the prep and he made the class a lot of fun. The teacher in the 2nd 5nensei class doesn't ever do that but she does make sure that the kids are listening and taking part. Even if it is from the back of the classroom.

After the 2nd period, I go back to the staffroom to be told that I wouldn't have any ghastly 6nensei classes today. I was so shocked with happiness my jaw dropped. They were apologising again and again and I had to try so hard to stop myself from punching the air in delight. A big grin still made it's way across my face though!!

YATTA!!!!!

Jesus, I'm Knackered!!

It's 8.50pm and I swear I'm about to fall asleep.

Out of nowhere I'm suddenly knackered. I know I've been busy all day but I'm only feeling it now.

I don't care how early it is - I'm gonna watch an episode of Prison Break and go to bed.

Night.

xx

Working from Home

I went back to my middle school at 3.30 to help the kids practice for the speech contest.

We were going until 5. And for the first time ever, I decided to stay late so I could finish my lesson prep and other stuff that I know I won't do at home.

What I didn't realise (because I'm never there in the afternoons) is that Wednesday is the leaving early day. At 5.10 I was basically told to go home!!

So now I've had to ring my work home with me. And I HATE doing that!! Why? Because I NEVER do it!! It's so annoying! I was in the right mindset and everything. But now I'm home. And my bed is sooo comfy....

Uh-oh.......

Just Fit

I just got back from the gym. I only swam for 50 minutes today because I have a lot of lesson prep to do. Plus I'm feeling a bit tired.

Straight after I came out of the gym, I went into KFC!!! I haven't been there for a LONG time. I don't even eat KFC back in London.

Some might say I undid all my work in the pool. But I completely disagree. I joined a gym to get fit. If you want to be fit AND healthy, then you have to eat properly. But I don't want to be healthy. I like my food too much. Therefore, I shall continue to eat what I like. I'm just working on the getting fit part.

There is another reason why I don't be healthy and work out at the same time. I actually CAN'T. If I did, the weight would come falling off me by the kilo. I'm one of those annoying people. Too easy to lose weight and waayyyy too hard to put it back on. Plus, when I lose weight (when I'm sick), it comes off all of the best parts!! And then when I put it back on again, it goes to all the wrong places!!

I remember once when I was at the doctor, I asked her how to put weight on just my ass!! LOL!! She just laughed at me. Not surprising really!!

Anyone have any ideas bout this?

Hehe

xx

I Love My Students

So I was at my middle school this morning. I normally hate Monday mornings because I have 4 classes. I know, I know, it's just cruel.

But today was just jokes. My students were on point with making me laugh!!

First 2nensei. They were told to write down their wish. The example that they were given was:

'My wish is to speak English well. I want to travel the world'.

LOLOLOLOL - this is what I got -

1) My wish is to be ginger. I like carrot.

2) My wish is to be invisible. I want to poke ~~ sensei's head.

3) My wish is to be old. I want to marry Ms. Jade

4) My wish is to have a big dinner. I want to have big meat.

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHE!!!

And if that wasn't enough to brighten up my Monday morning, I then had 3 1nensei classes. They're doing the third person in verbs - speaks, likes, plays etc

They were asked to write about me using the following as a guildline:

This is Tom.

He is from America.

He speaks English.

His hobby is mountain biking.

He likes to watch movies.

He plays tennis.

So I told them a few things about me - I said I like cooking, watching sports, dancing, going to the cinema and other boring stuff like that.

LOL - this is what they came up with:

She likes cocking.

She likes cock.

She likes to cock.

She likes cocking. With her father.

She plays cock.

She dances cock.

She likes big weener.

She eats weener.

She is big.

She is 37 years old.

She is old woman.

She has a long leg. (JUST ONE????!!!!!)

HEHE - i was marking them with my JTE and even she was wetting herself. She said she reckoned that some of them were genuine mistakes but the majority knew what they were saying because they're 'at that age'.

Either way, it brightened up my Monday!!

xx

No Better, No Worse

So I did end up going out last night.

And randomly met some guys from the BBC! So nice to hear some hardcore London accents.

Anywaysssssss, I had a GREAT time. Danced my arse off. Although I wouldn't say I sweat out my cold coz it wasn't that hot and I didn't really sweat! LOL!!

But good times! I've woken up and feel no worse so it's alllllll good!

xx

Sweat it Out

I've been toying with the idea of going to Fukuoka all day.

My body is screaming at me to stay at home in bed.

But I hate the idea of germs just festering in my house. There's enough filth in here already!! Man, I really need to clean.

So I have decided to go out. Against all better judgement. I'm gonna have a bash at sweating it all out on the dance floor.

Prob gonna pay the price tomorrow though!

xx

Kunchi

It's Ouchi Kunchi this weekend.

And it is an absolutely GLORIOUS day outside.

Yet, I am forced to watch the whole thing from my flat. I feel a bit better today and I want it to stay that way!!! I want to save my strength so I can go out tonight.

I remember kunchi last year. I was a Japanese 'princess' and had to be at the salon at 6.30am so that could start on my make up.

I will never forget my horror when I looked in the mirror and saw Michael Jackson in a kimono staring back at me. They painted my face BRIGHT WHITE and the rest of the make up was even worse!! It was so embarrassing parading through my little town in front of all my students and teachers and other work colleagues. All the adults were telling me how beautiful I looked. LOL how patronising. At least I got an honest response from the kids...laughter!!!

It was nice getting so much free food and drink though. And I got paid for it! Which I didn't know at the time.

I would like to go out and watch on the street. But I don't have the energy to deal with my super genki students and their parents. I need to sleep a bit more!!

Which leaves me with the debate of what to do today.

My house is so damn messy it's starting to do my head in. There is dust everywhere. Not to mention I can't see the floor for bags and flashcards and clothes. If ever there was a day that I should tidy up, it's today. But I just can't be arsed.

So I think I'll just stay in bed and...yep, you got it...

watch Prison Break!!

Heheheheheh

xx