Long time, no blog

This blog has been a bit dead (although I may be reviving some of my better posts for future projects), but I started a new blog that is centered in traveling stylishly, as well as other general travel tips that interest me. Be sure to subscribe! Enjoy!

The Stylish Traveler

Long time no see

Hm I seem to have really neglected this thing huh? I have no idea who still reads this but I have an inkling at least 99% of my "followers" are also my friends on facebook so I almost feel redundant sharing stories on here these days. I decided I like to teach about my life visually, through photos I take . I think if you see what I saw you get a better idea of what it's like rather than me just blabbing about it in paragraph form.

But in case you are not a visual learner/not my friend on facebook/or just plain bored here is what has been going on with me lately in one lump sum...(and also because I have a weird disorder in that I fight the urge to go to bed every single night and instead stay up until all hours doing useless things):

Well now my countdown is actually closer to 2 months and 4 days or something (not like I'm counting down the days or anything....). I bought my plane ticket home last week in fact. I got a great deal on it although I think it's going to be a ghetto flight. But I think it's better to assume the worst so I may be pleasantly surprised when it isn't so bad. Yes, I climbed Mt. Fuji. It was incredible. The sunrise was incredible. INCREDIBLE. Of course it was tiring but it wasn't as difficult or dangerous as the locals made it seem (but of course I am not surprised). Apparently an American and Japanese man died near the top a few days before we climbed it. It worried me until I got to the top and spent the whole time in the back of my head wondering how they managed to do that! If you haven't seen my Fuji pics please take a look, I refuse to be modest when I say they are awesome. However, Fuji was the last big thing I wanted to do/see in Japan so now I feel like I've done/seen everything that was important to me so I am more interested in just going out than planning trips and trying to "experience things" these days. Oh, well I actually still need to eat fugu (blowfish) although EVERYONE (foreigners and most Japanese) tells me it's expensive and tasteless, but hey I need the experience of "putting my life in danger for the sake of expensive tasteless potentially poisonous sashimi". Last week was a 9 day holiday and strangely I pretty much did nothing for it. I went out on the weekends, but during the week I sat home and vegged and IT WAS AWESOME. I needed that break. Work is making me feel like I was purchased rather than I am being paid but it is having that "so busy the time flies by" effect so maybe it isn't the most horrible thing in the world after all. I also have a 4 day weekend next month and might go back to Iki Island or at least just have some more fun. I'm even starting to make plans with friends back home for Halloween (oh yeah I am coming back Oct 25 in case you didn't know).

I was sitting home last night and realizing how random my list of things I am excited to have again in the US is. Some of it includes cheap body lotion (small bottles of regular brand name lotion here cost around 6 dollars), going to a social gathering and knowing should I want to I can communicate with anyone, eyebrow waxing (they only do laser here), Target, and of course there is more but that's some of the random stuff I can think of off the top of my head.

Ok who am I kidding, I think anyone would miss Target.

3 months!

Coming home in 3 months as of tomorrow (well technically today since it's 1 am here)! Seems like yesterday I was claiming 6 months left! I am getting excited!

Oh yeah, one small detail-climbing Mt. Fuji this weekend. Nothing too big or anything... ;)

rent-a-dog

I have been really busy lately. One of my coworkers went back to the US last week, so we had a big farewell party for him all night long...and from this week I am much much much busier at work because I took over some of his classes/had new classes added so I'm teaching around 5-7 fifty minute classes a day (and don't forget all the prep time/other things I'm responsible for beyond teaching). Boo. It does make the time go by really fast though. Plus this time around I actually like 98% my students-best so far! Besides the work being busy thing, I have been going out a lot with friends and therefore when I am home and have time to do things like update this blog, or write an email I find myself preferring to lie on the couch and pretend I am brain dead for a bit instead--so don't take offense if it takes a while to hear from me. I'm listening to you though. And I will respond in my own due time. =)

So the purpose of this blog and the title...I am teaching a student last night and he starts telling me...

Student: My family and I rented a dog this weekend and took it to my parent's--
Me: Wait, back up. You rented a dog? What?
Student: Yeah, we rented a dog for 2 days.
Me: Like a DVD?
Student: Yeah. Like that.
Me: You can RENT pets???

Apparently he and his family "rent a pet" here and there because they can't actually keep a pet at their apartment. They rent this dog often because his daughter likes it a lot (just like a man may have a favorite escort).

Although I give high fives to the IDEA and CONCEPT...does anyone else have a slight problem with this? I mean...I think we are all aware how attached dogs/other pets can get...so this poor dog is kept in a cage or something at the pet rental shop, and is "checked out" for two days with a family where it plays in parks and gets scratched by the children, and then it is returned to be put back in a cage...until another family checks him out...etc etc. Talk about confusing the poor thing. Those dogs must be so depressed and anxious. I can't imagine how these animals feel with their environments changing every day. I feel really bad for them!!

I wonder if there is a rent a kid shop... PROBABLY...

Miracle Work

Last night as I was wandering aimlessly around my grocery store thinking absolutely nothing sounded good for dinner, I walked by the refrigerated "pizza" area and something caught my eye. So I spun around and found myself staring at it for a good minute thinking I was hallucinating. FLOUR TORTILLAS???? WHAT????? When I finally realized it was reality I snatched 5 packs (I am tempted to go back and get even more, who know how long they'll be there??) and made tacos last night. The whole way I walked home my mind was filled with endless possibilities--burritos, tostadas, quesadillas (although the cheese sucks but hey I've at least got a tortilla!), etc etc. It's a shame I am probably the only person in this area who will appreciate them, as on the cover for the packaging it shows a Japanese style hot dog and lettuce in it. SIGH.

It's been a while...

1. I am almost at the "4 month" mark...wow!!

2. I am planning on climbing Fuji-san with some of my coworkers the last weekend of July...meaning I should probably start training for it. I asked them where we could go "practice" around here and their response was---like we'd know anything about hiking! Haha should be interesting =)

Besides that this month has just been really busy. Every weekend has been jammed full of different social things, and then of course work itself is kind of busy so that has basically been my month of June! I'm having a lot of fun lately though so it's all good =) The weather is quite nice for late June as well. It should be really humid and rainy but at the moment it is breezy and sunny (knock on wood).

5 months

until I am home!!!

Kinda seems like I was counting down 6 not very long ago. Time is flyyyyyying.