Our packout is confirmed for January 14th. yippee.
Had dinner with our dear friend Masako. We ate ourselves silly, surrounded by the clamor of year-end parties, a haze of cigarette smoke (not so fun), and the bustle of the waitstaff. Cozy, informal, easy and wonderful. Masako remarked that it didn't seem like we've been friends for more than three years now. Without her friendship and help, I never would have been able to learn as much about Kimono as I did. I sincerely hope she can visit us in the USA sometime.
A few emails about jobs, nothing stateside and nothing where we want to go. Germany fell through about two weeks ago. I'm fine with that - one less decision to agonize over.
I'm tired of the ongoing crap with this new contract. I'm sad to be leaving some of the aspects of my home- and work-life here behind, but I am also looking forward to dealing with a different kind of stupid back stateside. Change can be good. Even if it's just a change in the scenery of stupid. We have a plan of attack and I am ready to fire the opening salvo. I am painfully excited to see my friends - who have been very good about fb, email, twitter. Thanks, guys. You know who you are. I can't wait to see you all again.
My Aunt Den made Christmas more excellent for me by sending a care package of indigenous Buffalo/Western NY foodstuffs that I've always missed terribly around the holidays - DiCamillo's baked goods, her famous shortbread cat, homemade pistachio bark, sponge candy. No molasses cookies this package, but I am not complaining. Hilarious shotglasses - I need to youtube a video of Chris and I doing shooters with them. The shotglasses have LEDs in them that flash when you bang them on the table. Mine says "Reindeer Fuel!"
I did the holiday decorating over the weekend. It made me feel better to put the tree up a week earlier than usual. I'll even be able to observe my tradition of taking the tree down New Year's day. This is a nicer way to end my run in Japan then having Xmas in a hotel room. I am grateful for the opportunity for this "proper" (at least to me) closure. We will be out of the house on January 19th, living in a hotel for a few weeks, then we come back to the US.
Had dinner with our dear friend Masako. We ate ourselves silly, surrounded by the clamor of year-end parties, a haze of cigarette smoke (not so fun), and the bustle of the waitstaff. Cozy, informal, easy and wonderful. Masako remarked that it didn't seem like we've been friends for more than three years now. Without her friendship and help, I never would have been able to learn as much about Kimono as I did. I sincerely hope she can visit us in the USA sometime.
A few emails about jobs, nothing stateside and nothing where we want to go. Germany fell through about two weeks ago. I'm fine with that - one less decision to agonize over.
I'm tired of the ongoing crap with this new contract. I'm sad to be leaving some of the aspects of my home- and work-life here behind, but I am also looking forward to dealing with a different kind of stupid back stateside. Change can be good. Even if it's just a change in the scenery of stupid. We have a plan of attack and I am ready to fire the opening salvo. I am painfully excited to see my friends - who have been very good about fb, email, twitter. Thanks, guys. You know who you are. I can't wait to see you all again.
My Aunt Den made Christmas more excellent for me by sending a care package of indigenous Buffalo/Western NY foodstuffs that I've always missed terribly around the holidays - DiCamillo's baked goods, her famous shortbread cat, homemade pistachio bark, sponge candy. No molasses cookies this package, but I am not complaining. Hilarious shotglasses - I need to youtube a video of Chris and I doing shooters with them. The shotglasses have LEDs in them that flash when you bang them on the table. Mine says "Reindeer Fuel!"
I did the holiday decorating over the weekend. It made me feel better to put the tree up a week earlier than usual. I'll even be able to observe my tradition of taking the tree down New Year's day. This is a nicer way to end my run in Japan then having Xmas in a hotel room. I am grateful for the opportunity for this "proper" (at least to me) closure. We will be out of the house on January 19th, living in a hotel for a few weeks, then we come back to the US.
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