I had so much work to do today. I finally finished it. I ended up getting my lunch at 2:00. In the elevator on the way back to my office, I rode with the old guy who founded my company 35 years ago. He wanted to know what was in my sandwich.
I haven’t had any sweets since Sunday (and then it was but one red vine). No chocolate, no candy, no ice cream, no cookies, no sugared soda. Etc. I feel pretty good. After this week it’s not like I will go back to having sugar every day. I am doing this to train myself to not need it all the time. To have a treat every few days or so, and actually enjoy it.
My cold dissipated, except for the runny nose, which is now merely an annoyance. Nose is getting chapped. This is why soft cloth hankies are inherently better.
We had Japanese class last night. It’s going well and I am learning, but I will still be totally mute while in Tokyo. The best I will be able to do are some polite phrases and being able to read only one of the three alphabets. Ah well.
I’ve felt a bit weird this week… maybe like I have too much to do? I don’t know. Something to do with being sick and/or having sore knees and feeling like that has been seriously holding me back from exercising or training. Though I did go to training on Tuesday. Mainly I feel this huge anticipation, like something is about to start and I am having to wait for it. Spring time. Tokyo. Going to the mountains, or going to Woman Warrior seminar.
I always feel like there is something just around the corner and I can’t wait for it to come. Am I just restless? Or not enough in the present?
you know whats around the corner? APE! the alternative press expo! a week from saturday!! zines and comics and prints, oh my!
I want to go to this… is it downtown this year? A couple years ago it was way the hell out by the Marina or the Chrissy Field or something.
its at the Concourse on 7th street.
click this.
🙂
In taiwan, I found that I didn’t need polite phrases – I needed the opposite – one generic negative phrase (bu yao – no/i don’t want it/stop/leave me alone) and one generic positive phrase (yao, how, doy – I want, yes, okay, sure) plus thank you (shi sheh) and hello (ni hou) got me though most interactions just fine. Stuff like the pee-pee dance and eating and drinking gestures are pretty universal, too.
I do reccomend that you get someone to write your hotel/hostel/main destination down for you in japanese. Also, a little map of the mass transit system was really useful for telling/showing cabbies the general area that we wanted to get to.
The fact that industrialized asia is pretty safe/no one will rip you off made things a lot easier than I expected.
Good idea. Our ryokan has a website in english and japanese, I’ll just get their kanji/hiragana etc name from there. Thanks!
I am slightly dismayed that we’ll have to carry cash/travelers checks around, since not everywhere takes ATM cards and not every ATM will take my card, like in England and Europe. But then again, it’s Japan.
My atm card worked everywhere in Taiwan. Check it out more, I’m sure your card will work at some places there. You have to have 4-digit PIN, that’s it. If not, I don’t think there is a lot of street crime in Japan (compared to the US or europe), so you should be okay carrying your stuff around.