things I find awesome

love the license plate!!

I know it's an abreviatoin..but really?  On the back of a SCHOOL BUS?!?!

Title of a chapter in a book!

WAHH so busy

So December flew by SOOO fast.  Work was extremely slow for the first couple of weeks, but with the onset of holidays its been nuts around the hotel.  3 ski resorts within 15 minutes of town is just asking for trouble during school breaks.  Everyone in Petoskey calls the week between Christmas and New Years "Hell week" and ladys and gentlemen....it's very well named.  My internet time before today was like an hour or two in the last week one of which I used to post yesterday!  So glad New Years is behind me now, it means business is going to slow back down and my days will be way less chaotic.  Plus, my time left before I quit has now been cut in half.  I'm going down to Florida sometime next week and visiting my grandparents for a few weeks before flying out to Japan.  I can't wait.  I haven't seen either of them since summer.  Though I wont be posting the whole time I'm down there.

Speaking of Japan, when I emailed PKC about not working for them on the 11th of December I got a simple response of: "Thank You." Nothing else.  Can you believe it? Nothing about what I needed to do or what was going to happen.  I got an email from my "YAY!!" school on the 27th about my COE application. It seems the COE application from PKC out of the Nagoya immigration branch was never cancelled.  That is 2 full weeks after I told them I wasn't going to work for them.  So my new COE application from the Shiikoku branch couldn't begin processing my COE.  Obviously one person can't get two COEs from two difference schools.  Now leaving on Feb. 8th might be causing some problems.  Since my new COE hasn't even been started (as immigration and PKC have been closed for the holidays)...that is a full month, plus then the time it takes to get it in the mail, and turning my COE into an instructer's visa at the embassy.  All of which take time I am running out of!!! AHHH!

I did let "YAY" school know I want to visit Taiwan. So if I do run out of time I can have my COE mailed to a friends house in Japan I am already planning on visiting before going to the Yuki Matsuri up in Sapporo on the 12th and 13th.  If I have to do that I'll fly right out of Sapporo to Taipei, visit my 2 Taiwanese friends that have been wanting me to visit while my Visa processes, and then fly back into Tokyo in time to catch my already booked flight to Tokushima to start work.  Hopefully everything works out.  *fingers crossed everybody!*

New Years

Wow New Years was fun.  My Mom and Dad drove up to Petoskey to spend it with my sis, brother-in-law and I.  I was supposed to work the morning shift and get out at 5pm in time for them to either not have arrived yet..or not been in town long.  Well that didn't work out so well.  On top of this week being "Hell Week" (more on that later) Monday my boss caught the night desk clerk red handed drinking at work.  Now we suspected it for months but could never prove it, and she was still mostly performing her job correctly.  And not only was she drinking at work...she had come to work trashed...and my boss saw that she had made a copy of the master key to his house and was drinking HIS alcohol!  MASSIVE no no.   So he fired her on the spot.  Made that week extra hectic. 

As his sons were in town he wanted to have dinner with them outside of the house.  He asked if I could work night shift...I being the extrememly nice person who usually bends over backwards to help people said yes.  Thankfully they knew I had plans and didn't stay out really late.  They got back at 10:30 and let me go.  I changed and made it to the casino club my family and friends had gathered at and stayed out partying till 4am.  I had to get gas on the way home...I was stunned to realize it was nearly 50 degrees outside.  I mean this is MICHIGAN...in JANUARY!!! 

I slept till early afternoon and then went to my sister's house where everyone had spent the night.  They were all up and drinking by then...my mom has a fantastic picture of them earlier in the morning of everyone passed out on the couch.  Litterally everyone....like 12 people I think.  It was an extremely amusing picture.  If I can get ahold of it I might post it~!

Christmas Comparison

So I decided to post the difference between my Christmas In Japan compared to my normal one at home.  In Kawauchi I was prepared to be spending it alone.  I mean It's a family holiday in the US so I didn't want to intrude on my Boyfriends family..as we had only been together for a few weeks, and my adoptive family hadn't said anything about my coming over.  It was a depressing thought, but I was thinking I would have the internet to keep me company.  Turns out Christmas in Japan is NOT a family holiday....the way I came to understand they celebrate is with dinner like normal, and then cake...or young people spend the holiday planning dates with their boyfriend/girlfriend.  So Masa called to have me pick him up...AGAIN!!..we were back at my apartment for maybe a half hour when Hiroko and Ken my adoptive parents called asking if I wanted to come over for dinner.  So Masa and I went over and had dinner and spent several hours just hanging out at their house.  It was great, so much better than me pathetically alone watching Drama TV shows at my apartment.  I didn't take any picture unfortunately...but I guess it would be pretty normal ones of the 4 of us sitting at the table with food.  I missed not being with my actual family, but had a great time! I had my mom keep m presents at home...seemed a waste to have them mailed to me only to have to struggle to fit them in my suitcase when I returned home. 

In comparison Christmas in back home...as I said...is a family holiday.  My family decided to do Christmas with my Dad's extended family.  Which this year gathered first at my cousin's house for appitizers and then my aunt's for dinner and present opening on Christmas Eve.  I got out of work in time to make it for appitizers, but waited for my brother-in-law to get out of work in order to drive together.  We thought 3 cars was a little excessive...my sister works in the town that my cousin and aunt live....so I didn't end up getting to the party until it had already moved to my aunt's house.  This side of my family is quite large, over half of my cousins were missing and we still had over 20 people gathered.  By the time dinner was ready everyone had had a fair amount of time to get hungry...and we all practically pounced on the food!! and then chatted and kept eating for a while.  Lots of fun and my aunt's ham was DELICIOUS!! 

Once it was universally decided that we were done eating my cousin's kids couldn't stop themselves from insisiting on opening presents.  So we all caved and gave them theirs....but that wasn't good enough for them..there were still a ton of gifts under the tree they wanted open!  So the adults gathered around and played our dispersal game.  Basically everyone brings one present for a general girl/guy (whichever you are) and they all go under the tree.  Based on a number you order you go and pick a present from under the tree that is your gender and you open it...or if you liked a present someone else opened you can steal their gift...in which case they can get up and open a new present or steal from someone else...repeat procedure until all present are opened!  It's a lot of fun.  I originally got a set of 10 different clinique eye shadows, but my cousin snatched it from me.  I took her sister's blanket instead and she went in the middle and opened the last present..thus ending the game.  Worked out ok, I had most of those colors anyways (clinique is my favorite makeup ever!) and I love blankets! 

Once the gift exchange was over we basically just chilled on the different chairs and couch drinking and talking for several hours until everyone was getting sleepy.  My parents, grandmother and I headed to my grandmothers house and went to bed.  Christmas morning started at around 9 for me...most of the fam was up already.  we did the close family present exchange and then my grandmother made breakfast.  I got a nook for Christmas!! love it.  I use it daily.  And my sister and brother-in-law gave me a new luggage set.  I killed the last set in Tokyo because of how heavy it was.  I really needed that, so good job sis~!

Being Brave

So I just pulled a very risky manuver that is scaring the crap out of me right now.  Having been hired at PKC for the last couple of weeks has been a sigh of relief about my employment in Japan.  I am really starting to hate my life when I wake up and have to go to my job here.  Getting into the February training session seemed like a Godsend. 

Until of course last week when I got an email from a school I applied for back in October for a Hoikuen (Nursery School) opening they had.  By the time they recieved my application they had already filled the post (reason they haven't been mentioned before), but apparently kept my application on file.  The email I got last week said they had an opening at their Yochien (Kindergaten) and asked if I was interested in interviewing for the position.  Back in October they were my absolute favorite school I had sent my resume to and was devistated when they had already filled the post before I could have even been concidered.  Needless to say my heart plummitted when I realized they had yet another opening, but I was already committed to working somewhere else.  I did tell them I wanted the interview thou.  I mean, come on what were the chances that I would actually get the job against the hundreds that probably applied?  Pretty good apparenty.  Within a few hours of my Skype interview (which I thought I had bombed) I got an official job offer in my email.  Yay for me right?!  Not exactly...PKC already has a signed contract and all my paperwork.  I also think they have started my Certificate for Eligibility proccessing for my Instructor Visa, which adds a whole new dimention of complications since I want to go with the new school.

After having talked with my new roommate, and friends from Japan I realized I had to tell PKC I couldn't work for them right away. I spent over an hour composing the email to deliver my bad news.  I have no idea what kind of chaos this is going to cause.  Hopefully I hear back from Donna this weekend and I can tell my "YIPPEEE I WAS HIRED" school that yes I accept their job offer, on Monday.  I will have the same teachers and students I will see on a daily basis all year long.  I am so excited.  Plus it's Yochien...my oldest students are going to be 5!!!  So impressionable and full of energy.  I can't wait.  It only starts 2 weeks after PKC so I can have an extra week of time with my family, and then be able to fit in Taiwan.  I was worried with Visa processing taking so long I would have to skip Taiwan until an extended holiday sometime.  Now as long as I can re-submit my paperwork fast enough it wont be an issue.

On a side note, because of the interview (I had completely forgotten about it) I didn't go home on Wednesday.  My friend I hope will forgive me.  Though we already made plans to get together next weekend instead.  When I will have time to spend a few days instead of hours at home.  I tried going to see Tangled with a guy friend of mine here in Petoskey....it almost worked.  We were going to the noon showing since he had to be to work at 2.  We pull into the theater parking lot to see a school bus.  Ominous music *figuratively* started playing.  I optimistically suggested they might be there for Megamind or the latest Harry Potter movie.  But of course no such luck...all 40 kids were in Tangled.  Which still might have been ok...except we learned they were 40 handicapped students.  Now no hate mail for that comment.  I applaud them, and have more simpathy for them than the average person, but they are not known to be the quietest people on the planet.  With that many in one room we were bound to have at least one screamer.  So we nixed that idea and wandered Walmart and a few other stores trying to run down the clock till he had to go to work.

After we parted ways, I went to go run my errands that were an additional part to my cancelling on the drive back to Muskegon.  When I got to the bank I realized I had forgotten my check book, it threw me off so bad I drove back to my new house and completely forgot about the rest of my errands until like 7pm...way past the time they all had closed.  Ahhh well...most of them involved stuff for PKC so I guess it all turned out ok!

my life...updating

So not a lot has been happening with me in reguards to Japan so I haven't written anything in a little while.  I got word from Donna a while ago that the February session had been filled.  She put me at the top of the list, but I wasn't really holding out for it.  Thus, my lack of enthusiasm to get on and blog about my life.  But YAY! lucky me, Donna just e-mailed me this morning and gave me the news that a spot had opened up!  So off I go with the rest of the people I met and interviewed with a few weeks ago!! I informed my boss today also that my last day would now be February 1st, insteady of sometime in April.  I get to resign a whole 2 months early ^^ They were a little depressed, but I think they were happy for me.  Hope you all are too, it means I get to go on my next adventure in just 2 months!  I'm SOOO excited! Can you tell?!?  Now all I need to do is go get a background check, and a medical check up.  Simple right?!

So now that I am back I should go and appraise you all of what has been happening in my life recently.  Thanksgiving was fantastic, I did only have Thursday off so I couldn't go too far.  I ended up driving down to my Aunt's house had had dinner with my Stepfather, Grandmother, Aunt and Uncle, 2 cousins (their daughter's) a cousin-in-law and then their 2 kids.  Dinner was delicious, I am a good cook, but they kept booting me out of the kitchen.  Made me sad, so I kept my little cousins busy by letting them use my drawing pencils and we made lots of drawings together.  Wasn't my best work, but as I was working with a 4 and 6 year old I think I can handle that.  They have time to get better!! Speaking of drawing, I am getting really close to finishing my latest drawing.  Thanks to them I was working on it for hours.  I'm making it my mission to have it done before I leave. 

 I moved in with a nice older lady till I go to Japan yesterday.  She smokes and has 5 cats, it's kind of a bother, but nothing I can't handle for 2 months.  I had to move out of my sister's house last week Monday. It's been about a year and a half since I started living with her and her fiance (now husband), over the last couple of months they'v been treating me weird...it's been making me feel they didn't want me around anymore.  I completely understand, but wish they would have just came out and told me.  We ended up getting in a huge fight and I stayed at my friends for the week.  On top of that this past weekend was the downtown open house for Petoskey. Basically on big party in the entire town.  Caroling, bonfires, drinking, and big shopping discounts! Tons of fun, my bosses throw a HUGE pre and post downtown openhouse party.  Since they own a hotel most of their friends stayed the night....it went on past 3am this year.  All day Thursday I was helping them prepare for it.....

Look what I got paid to do for 3 hours!!  Make cookies!!

I had the weekend off finally, I went home to visit my parents with the sister fight and crashing at my friend's grandparent's house for a week I really needed it.  That was the first time I went home since my best friend's wedding back in Septemeber...which kept me extremely busy and hardly even saw them.  Going home was wonderful.  I tried meeting up with tmy friend on Saturday night for her birthday..she ended up having to work LITTERALLY all day, so I'm going back down tomorrow night and spending Thursday with her.  It's my day off this week.  3 hours each way is going to be a pain, but should be worth it.  We are planning on going to see the Repunzel movie: Tangled.  It looks awesome, her husband wont see it with her.  Then it's back to Petoskey Thursday night for work Friday morning.

Thanksgiving in Japan

So I figured since I mentioned both Thanksgiving and how I was going to talk a bit about my previous stay in Japan in the last post I would talk about how I spent Thanksgiving over there. 

I got invited by one of my other gaijin (foriegner) friends to a tradional Amerian Thanksgiving dinner that he was throwing in the main room of the church we was living above.  It had a full...if a bit small...kitchen.  Everyone invited was to bring a dish..I was going to do mashed potatoes...since they are my FAVORITE! but my friend Sarah had already claimed them. So I decided on Apple Pie.  I am really good with desserts so I was hoping I would be able to make it work in the tiny oven.  When I got there I realized there were a lot more people than I had thought there would be....and turns out, it was a Japanese guy who had lived abroad in the US for a while that suggested the dinner.  Figures right?!? the Japanese guy suggests to a whole bunch of Americans to celebrate an American holiday....something nobody thought of before, and a lot of my friends had been in Japan for a few years!  I was lucky with the pie.  We were cooking it while eating and the person in charge of telling me 45 minutes had elapsed forgot.  Luckily I remembered to check on my own and rescued it from burning!! It turned out delicious!!

That Japanese guy (Masa) and I ended up dating for a while, didn't last long though.  He got a job and was transfered down to Ibaraki and then Osaka a little after Christmas.  It's a shame, he was nice but not so great a boyfriend I was willing to do that far long distance so close to heading back to the US.  Besides he kept making me pick him up (my money in gas) and take him home (30 mins each way, twice everytime we got together).  Never thanked me, and never apologized!

 I have more and better pictures of the 2 of us...but this one is just hilarious that I couldn't resist!