Global Nomad: Glasgow Edition

Things I Wish I Could Buy

2011-10-06T22:21:00.002+09:00

Is it too early to order Christmas music? I really want Sufjan Steven's Christmas album, as well as She & Him's Christmas album. Actually, to be honest, I pretty much want all of She & Him's collection. But especially their Christmas diddies. I dropped a lot of pretty major hints to Eamonn regarding the Sufjan album last year, but apparently they were sold out.

This year I thought about buying them myself but since I'm saving to go back to San Diego (where I will bring two empty suitcases and fill them with lots of clothes, Jr Mints, and classic Cheerios), I thought I'd save on the excessive spending.

That's a lie. It's mostly because last night I ordered My Fair Lady and a British TV series I've been promised is as awesome as Downton Abby. But perhaps the San Diego thing will be my further excuse.

In the meantime, I'm still pretty obsessed with that Sammy Davis Jr song "Rhythm of Life" from Sweet Charity. Did you know it was in a Guinness commercial (or "advert" if you're British, which I'm not...but man do these words creep into my speech)? This ad incorporates many things I love: booze, science, and an awesome song.

On another note I'd just like to say I'm pretty sure the weather in Glasgow is bipolar. One second there's thunder claps and violet rain, not to mention a very grey sky, and the next it's sunny and birds are chirping. If I've learned one thing about this silly country, it's that one needs cute rainboots and a warm jacket with a hood. Neither of which I own. Must grab my wallet and head to the "high street!"

Me and My Discoveries

2011-10-06T08:13:00.001+09:00

Lately I've been craving some My Fair Lady like nobody's business.

I chalk it up to the fact that I'm working on the musical Me and My Girl, which seems like the dime store version of My Fair Lady mixed with a little Singing in the Rain (they even have a song called "Leaning on a Lamp Post").

Not to say the musical is without merit. Apparently "The Sun Has Got Its Hat On," the opening number for act 2, is actually a well known song that my various Scottish friends were surprised to find out is from a musical.

I was also surprised to see people in the musical wearing these clothes:

After making a few (hilarious) references to Mary Poppins, and possibly singing part of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (I seriously spelled that right. I googled it after, and found my version was correct! High-five me!), I was informed by my fellow coworkers that this is in fact an actual thing. So I looked it up. "Pearly Kings and Queens" is a kind of working-class charity tradition. But it seems to also be a kind of strange fashion fad, much like much like the Yoyogi Rockabilly Elvises. For charity. By the way I chose that particular Youtube video of hundreds, because I enjoyed the awkardness of that older Japanese guy taking off his shirt.

Back to Pearl Kings and Queens. Maybe I'm the only one, but this information completely blew my mind, as I always thought this mariachi-esque outfit was strictly a funky thing from Marry Poppins

I said it to me girl, and now me girl's me wife!

Now I think I'll cruise Amazon for a good used copy of My Fair Lady so I can also sing about the rain in Spain being mainly in the plains. While humming the tune to "The Sun Has Got Its Hat On," Which is mega-catchy.

Challenge Rejected

2011-10-06T07:41:00.001+09:00

Well that challenge was a waste of time. Especially since lately I've been working late, staying up even later catching up on my stories, then getting up around/after 12, reading in bed until late afternoon, then scrambling to exercise and make it to work by 6pm.

It's a fine life I lead...as a casual technician.

But that's about to end as of tomorrow because I have Halloween decorations to dig up/make, Christmas presents to seriously start making (seriously...me. Seriously), and movies to go see by myself (it's fun...honest! No it's not. Maybe it is a little).

Who knows if this will work...perhaps weeks will go by and all you'll have is another "Wow it's a whole new season and I've been awfully quiet!" post.

Fail Fail Fail!

2011-09-23T03:45:00.000+09:00

My 30 posts in 30 days hasn't gone very well so far, considering that the month is almost over! What happened? I blame myself, the pure dislike I have for my dying computer, and the fact that I've been entertaining visitors.

But these are mere excuses. I have, while not blogging every day, been crocheting every day! My bag now looks like a giant ruffly doily. I'm still concerned about this ruffling, but I'm going to keep going and hope it's all for the best. Either that or I'll have to take the whole damn thing apart and make up my own pattern. Here's my ruffly ruffle ruff:

Now I must go back to this curious bag, a really bad miniseries I can't stop watching, and the promises of a yummy curry being made by Eamonn in the kitchen.

As far as things to come, I have some fun crochet-related plans ahead, as well as nearly two months straight of theatre-related work, a "mini break" (sounds so much cuter than mini vacatoin) to Edinburgh, and DOWNTON ABBEY IS BACK! So in a nutshell, things are pretty awesome!

See you tomorrow! I promise!

Hey, It's Pretty Cool!

2011-09-09T20:45:00.000+09:00

The holidays are creeping up, and for that reason I have my mind set on crocheting Christmas presents early so I don't spend December nights up late making ugly hats.

But first, I am going to attempt to make this Super Self-Pouching String Bag as a birthday gift. The website is kind of silly, but after looking at what feels like hundreds of different free patterns for market bags, I think this one might be the best. Plus I saw a picture of someone's kid hanging in the bag! Hilarious!

I'm also pretty obsessed with this amazing lady's blog Hair Romance. Her tips and stories are wonderfully helpful, and I have realized I have hair dysmorphia. Despite the fact that it's pretty longish (just past the shoulders), I keep thinking I can't do anything with it. NOT ANYMORE!

And finally, thanks to Stumbleupon I came across this lovely mural which I can't wait to do in my home. Possibly in the hallway, possibly decorated with whatever tchotchkes correlate with the season. Crocheted bits and bobs perhaps?! The possibilities are endless!

Now I will go back to being proud of my hair, and crocheting this thing even though the base seems to be ruffling, which I don't think is supposed to happen.

Challenge AccepTED

2011-09-09T20:29:00.000+09:00

I am so bad at blogging. Is it because I'm busy, have lost interest, or after throwing sandwich-sized updates on facebook/twitter, I just don't have the energy or motivation to put anything up on a blog?

I consume interesting things on the internet constantly now that I have a smart phone, and am always emailing things I love to friends, family, etc. Yet I hardly think about writing about it on the blog.

Funny things happen to me all the time in Glasgow, I see awesome things I want to do to my apartment, I make new crafty presents for people, yet I do it without really thinking about sharing.

Maybe I'll force myself to document it all for the next 30 days and see how I feel at the end.

So here's day one! On the next post.

So Let Me Get Right to the Point

2011-07-01T20:02:00.000+09:00

I used to do this all the time, and I quite enjoyed it, and sometimes I even thought I had funny things to talk about.

Then I got busy or stopped caring or lost motivation or all of the above. Recently my dad told me that he quite enjoys reading what I have to put down so that's enough motivation for me!

So what's new? It's July in Glasgow and if I didn't have mud on my face and desires to exercise, I'd be walking through a park listening to this song:

Man that song is a jam. I can't get enough of it.

I haven't picked up a crochet hook in weeks, mostly because I've been incredibly busy and at a standstill with the whole plan to sell things. Also if I start now I could probably have all my Christmas presents made...so that's something I've been thinking but doing nothing about.

While not being craftily productive, I have been physically productive. I've been doing a few get-ins and get-outs at work, which involves carrying heavy crap and knowing a lot about lighting (I fail on both accounts), and while I may not have that much motivation to learn the finer aspects of lighting, I can be better at lifting heavy crap.

So I bought this book, read it cover to cover, and started the six-month program laid out in the book. Today marks day three. I finally feel like I've found a method of exercising that doesn't make me want to kill myself, and the way it's written is very easy to follow and understand. Plus the author's pretty funny. The only problem is that when one is building muscles, one has to eat a lot more, and this is hard for someone who previously ate maybe two, two and a half times a day. Now I'm up to eating three times a day and two big snacks. I also have to get up earlier than lunch time so I can eat breakfast, and to actually plan a dinner instead of grabbing something random to eat at work. I seriously feel like all I do now is eat.

Frustratingly, despite all this eating, I'm a little less than 300 calories short of hitting the calorie mark I should be for my age/weight/height. I'm counting on this mark being just a suggestion because honestly it's just too much damn food!

Then there's the whole protein thing. I'm really enjoying figuring out what sorts of proteins to eat at various times of the day, but I am not enjoying the INSANE farts that come with consuming this much protein. I can't recall anyone talking about protein farts, yet apparently everyone's doing it. Not a fan. Although now every time I see someone with very obvious muscles, I think to myself "you have terrible shits and smelly farts!"

I also joined a council gym, which means I can take pilates classes, which were suggested by my physiotherapist for my back (and it apparently is good for people with sore muscles, which I have a lot of at the moment!).

So four days a week I'm either lifting weights, lunghing, crunching, or bending myself in bizarre ways on a yoga mat in a gym tangent to a huge beautiful park.

Oh! Did I mention this gym has a huge outdoor track and I saw a girl roller blading on it?! Looks like I'm bringing my blades back from San Diego next time I'm down!!

In other news I got a job at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August so that's fantastic and amazing and very exciting. Conversely, I currently don't have any work lined up for nearly a month leading up to the Fringe, which scares the crap out of me.

What else...I'm growing my hair out, it's to my shoulders and I honestly have no idea what to do with it. I don't think it's been this long since I was in high school. I have a couple weddings coming up and am contemplating buying some sort of ridiculous fascinator so I can simultaneously be more like Princess Beatrice and hide the fact that I have on idea what to do with this curly mess.

I think that's finally it. It honestly is a beautiful day so I'm going to get to it!

2011-03-31T22:08:00.000+09:00

I've sort of let the blog die. I've just been so busy working on various projects and haven't even had time to pick up a crochet hook!

I did however get a fancy phone, and a new obsession with crocheting with strips of sheets.

I need to figure out how to change the look of this thing. I think part of why I always forget about the blog is because I don't like the layout anymore. Plus with general emailing of friends, facebook, and now my new obsession with following my favorite comedians and actors on Twitter, I don't really see a point to the blog anymore.

Perhaps if I can finally get the craft thing off the ground it'll provide a better outlet for blogging.

The Turnaround

2011-02-22T02:28:00.000+09:00

My five weeks of work are over, and in addition to feeling relieved to never have to listen to the music from that particular musical for a long long time, I am now facebook friends with people who are theoretically my bosses at this place of occasional work (they added me, I don't think I've actively added someone on facebook since I had a girl crush on a new friend two years ago).

After poking around their respective facebook pages I suddenly thought "Oh man. This dude is my boss!" I was pretty sure my account was free of embarrassing things, and after dedicating the better part of an hour getting lost in nearly a decade of pictures, all I found were a lot of shots of me having an awesome time, one really close-up of my cleavage, and some pictures from the Undie-Run in college.

Safe! I walked away comforted by the knowledge that no one really digs that far into pictures anyway (unless really bored while alone watching TV). I also walked away with all of these renewed memories of fantastic times had all over the world. I've done a lot and that's pretty cool!

Which brings me to now, where I am living it up UK-style. I'm still deep in the throes of opening my own shop/creating a brand and with the insane wealth of information on the net I'd be lying if I didn't say I am totally overwhelmed. Usually I get lost in a wormhole of endless information and tips for crafters looking to sell, get tired/stressed, walk away and start to crochet something, only to stop and come back to the internet for more stressful yet helpful information.

I think I also have low crafter's self-esteem because every time I look up things that I am thinking about making, I find endless listings of items even cooler than I imagined. Some are uglier. Hopefully I will provide something different that will catch people's eye. Or according to the wealth of information I can strategically make my items catch people's eyes through blogging and community and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

I could talk about this forever.

My current plan is to stop over-thinking what my brand will be, and what my logo will look like, when/where I'd have to register my business name, and where to find supplies wholesale, and just crochet the shit out of my current supply. That way once I've figured everything out, at least I'll have a crap-ton of items to back up the business plan.

BUSINESS PLAN!

Oh man I am overwhelmed again.

Did I mention I also want to make the second bedroom into a studio? Crafting on the couch hurts my lower back and I don't like having all of my things spread out and stashed away in closets. I have grand plans for the second bedroom including chalk board paint, cork board on closet doors and inside funky frames, comfy chairs, a day bed (because sometimes people have to sleep over), a bomb-diggidy desk, so much wall space covered in things that will help me be creative, shelves for my yarn, drawers for my art supplies, and OH MAN I COULD GO ON FOREVER. It's going to be amazing!! One day.

For now the 2nd room is occupied by my friend who is also our temporary tenant. And all of her crap.

One day though...that room is not going to know what hit it!

Big Plans Slow Changes

2011-02-17T21:04:00.002+09:00

I've decided to try selling things I've made. Mostly on the net, but hopefully also in shops and maybe at craft fairs once I've built the foundations of what my brand will be and have lots of stuff made. In an ideal world, I could do this during the day and theatre at night. So I'd never need a day job or have to worry about when the next gig is. Ideally.

It seems like this is going to take a while to get everything started since I have to:
A. make a sizable inventory
B. decide on a brand/image
C. put brand/image on items somehow
D. copyright?
E. file as self employed?

The last two I'm really not sure about. What I definitely AM sure about is a name for my shop/brand. Which I've already started a new blog for that will tie into the online shop. Only now I think maybe I should have started the blog on a whole separate account instead of being linked to this silliness.

Crap!

In other news my current job ends in a few days and I have a couple prospects but nothing definite in the work future. Which is really frustrating but expected so I can't complain!

It's so great to have a job?

2011-02-03T20:42:00.002+09:00

It's so great to have a job!

It's so great to have a job!

It's so great to have a job!

Right?

Only I've realized that I've been spending weeks in the audience when where I really want to be is in dark booths or backstage. Where it is also dark. And not 500 degrees.

It is so nice to have a job.

And many more jobs that are too hot, or too far away from where I want to be, until I am right where I want to be.

At least I am actually in a theater, after a year of teaching, a year of waiting, serving tables, and endless waiting.

On another note, I am still in my pajamas and watching movies saved on the DVR. Job or no job, I am lazy through and through!

Things are a-changin'

2011-01-20T21:33:00.003+09:00

I'm always abandoning Global Nomad, then coming back to say that I've abandoned it, then talking about TV and food before disappearing again.

So that's the last time that's going to happen. I'm going to write more because (1) I like it, and (2) I like it. I don't really know who reads it or cares, but there it is!

I've been working on a big show in Glasgow as a follow spot operator, and it's so great to have a job. A job that is related to my degree, even if it's not quite what I like to do. The people I work with are lovely, the show is quite fun (hopefully it won't wear on me in the next five weeks), and once the show ends theoretically the theater will give me more work since I am their "casual technician." The only downside is I have to climb a zillion stairs to get to my follow spot, which leaves me winded and very sore the next day. It could be considered a free workout though, which is good. That whole theater is a labyrinth of stairs. Certain areas even require one to go downstairs in order to get to a final destination which is upstairs. Strange. But fun.

It's also been a great experience in getting used to the British style of technical theater. All kinds of small terms and job titles are different, which leaves me wondering how stupid I would sound if I asked what things mean or who that person is. So far I haven't.

Now I have to get my day going so I can find new black shoes, maybe see a movie, then get my follow-spot on.

Guess Who's Back, Back Again...

2010-12-16T23:18:00.002+09:00

After three months, endless waiting, a lot of working, and a lot of Mexican food, I finally got a work visa.

A Christmas Miracle if I do say so myself!

Now I am nestled back into my lovely apartment with my lovely Eamonn in freezing freezing Scotland. I thought I'd be ready for this cold cold weather but turns out coming from sunny San Diego straight to snow-storming Glasgow has left me rather stunned and almost always cold.

It doesn't help that our shower is currently trickling out tepid water and all of the plumbers are busy fixing frozen pipes and can't come help us.

I arrived on Monday, no thanks to a really annoying border agency officer who I'm pretty sure didn't want to let me in, and now it's Thursday and I'm not exactly sure what I've been doing for the past three days. Not unpacking, that's for sure. I'm pretty sure my pile of unpacked suitcases has been slowly spitting out its contents and duplicating them when I'm not looking.

I could unpack, or I could watch hours of whatever the DVR has been recording in my absence. Maybe I'll alternate between the two.

Did I mention it's sooo cold?

Hotctober

2010-10-12T04:14:00.003+09:00

It's SO HOT!

Man this is great. I just realized that I thought I'd be in San Diego for a month and that was in August. Now it's October and I'll probably be here until late November based on an update from the UK Border Agency in LA.

Even though I miss Eamonn madly I'm super-pumped about being here for my birthday/Thanksgiving. Mostly Thanksgiving. Man I love Thanksgiving!!!

I am not super pumped, however, about staying at this stupid job I recently acquired. It's a corporate-run chain-version of many cafes/bakeries I've worked at in the past so basically all the fun has been sucked out of it, and all the people who work there are in high school/freshly graduated and for some reason they are all cranky. Granted one of them is pregnant so she gets a freebie.

The whole situation just means I have to work extra hard to make shifts enjoyable with all of these Negative Nancys running around making bad lattes.

On the other hand, I've been using all of my free time to DVR the crap out of
America's Next Top Model
Castle
How I Met Your Mother
Parks and Recreation
SNL
Tosh.O
Children's Hospital
Some Disney shows I'm too embarrassed to mention
Boardwalk Empire

And so much more! American television is grand, isn't it?

Home Sweet Home

2010-10-09T15:22:00.002+09:00

I am living in a weird half-limbo here in San Diego and have constructed elaborate lies in order to get crappy jobs so at least I can make money in this limbo.

The result is I have one job that I love and another I could care less about. Oh and I work with people about seven years younger than me.

Another result is there's literally nothing I feel like writing about.

Which makes me sad since I do really like writing in general.

I wish my application would just get processed already.

One benefit of being here so long is I was able to renew my license and am quite pleased with my new picture. Although my old one is amazing too... I've also overloaded my mom's Blockbuster Online account with all kinds of ridiculous movies I missed in theaters.

In the end, these are poor distractions from the fact that I miss Eamonn and want this all to be over!

Relevant Probably

2010-09-16T11:33:00.002+09:00

I have a lot more things to talk about that are probably more interesting since I've almost been in San Diego for a month now but I just wanted to say:

I've been going through the rest of my books left in my mom's garage from College and whatnot, and aside from realizing that most of them are worth 1 cent, I've also found that tons of them are full of little notes and origami creatures made by yours truly. It's been surprisingly fun and bizarre to flip through copies of James Joyce and Chicano Theater studies and not only see my attempt at witty and thoughtful comments on the writing, but notes passed to friends and order checks from old jobs with random lists written next to orders for egg white omelets and panninis.

I also found ticket stubs from the day I broke my foot the first time in 2006, as well as a hand written letter from an old family friend congratulating me on graduating college.

Oh memory lane!

Ok one more thing about being in San Diego: STREET TACOS!!! HEAVEN ON EARTH!!!

Aaaand...PLAY

2010-08-12T22:51:00.003+09:00

Well well well. I have a blog! I really don't know why anymore. In high school I had a blog with a bunch of friends on a shared domain. At the time we thought it was fun and cool and new (which it was), and I have no idea who actually read it but in our group of friends it was a fun way to be connected, reflect on things, muse on other things, and try to write something of value. Or quote Weezer songs. I think I once tried to be introspective and quoted a really lame Green Day song. Now looking back the posts are cute and mostly trivial but an amazing slice of my high school life that otherwise would have gone undocumented. Which is perhaps for the better. I think one day it could be fun to get it all put into a book. Typos and all! But mostly just for me to read. Not for others.

Like all good things (and some not so great things) the high school blog came to an end and I had a brief stint on Live Journal, which in retrospect makes me laugh.

Then I went back to the blog once I had gotten a job teaching English in Japan, and used this very blog, at the time titled "Tokyo Variations" to document my wacky crazy life in Japan. It was a great time full of adventures and hilarity, all documented for family and friends to enjoy.

Once I moved out to Scotland I felt weird writing on the blog dedicated to all things Japan, and thought about making a new one for Scotland but instead decided on just revamping Tokyo Variations to accommodate the change. The problem with that was that I thought I'd have plenty to write about when in truth I did not. Unless I wanted to resort back to the whiny whinings of the Live-Journal me. The truth is, I wasn't doing anything, and therefore came up blank on things worthy of noting. I've been here for a year now, not allowed to work, and basically left to my own devices while the UK Border Agency played kick-ball with my visa application.

After days, weeks, months of nothing, I developed mini routines based on the mantra "don't get depressed." I worked out, honed my crocheting skills (I am now a freaking crochet master), didn't work out, slept in, got up early, explored parks, named ducks in park ponds, cafe-hopped, and movie watched. I also nicknamed all the weirdos that hang around the West End and made a point of telling Eamonn all about who I saw each day. Oh did I mention I spent A LOT of time powering through TV shows on the internets? I basically got really good at finding ways to fill my day, or not fill my day, so I wouldn't focus on the fact that my life is at a standstill.

And that makes for boring blog updates. So I sort of quit. I thought maybe I could make it into a craft blog, but that's not really what I want, and there are so many better craft blogs out there (and a whole lot of weird ones). Now everything's come to a head starting with a rejection letter from the UK Border Agency, received about a month ago. Since then I'm pretty sure our plan of action changed 20 times (with the temporary idea of trying this thing out in Ireland), and I know I grew a lot of gray hairs and completely gave up on exercising in the process.

Now the final plan is in motion, which involves me going back to CA and trying a different kind of visa which absolutely without a doubt is going to work. It's just a matter of playing the waiting game. The past month and the whole ordeal in general has been a strange one, where in the end I came to the conclusion that I've spent an entire year in Scotland doing absolutely nothing, earning absolutely nothing, and being accountable for nothing. Is this what rich people who don't have to work for a living do? Because let me tell you something: it's boring.

The waiting game I'll be playing in CA will most likely take a month, which is about how much time I spent in San Diego between coming back from Japan and going to Scotland last year. How ironic. And like last time, Eamonn is coming for a couple weeks to enjoy a little vacation time from all this visa-chaos. I'm really looking forward to this trip. Mostly because at the end I will be able to get a real job and live with my mans, but also because I miss constant sun and Mexican food. And California-style sushi. And my family. Did I mention Mexican food?

So I've picked up the blog torch yet again. I'm not sure for who, so mostly I'll say it's for me. I like writing. Even if no one's reading. And now that my life is off pause, perhaps there will be more fun things to write about than whether or not I want to exercise and what's going down at the park today.

Did I mention I moved? I now live near two huge parks, one of which houses a castle and a handful of highland cows. SO AWESOME.

I won't say pictures to follow because I'm leaving in a week and that's just not going to happen.

Uhm, Hi

2010-07-23T19:56:00.001+09:00

I'm not dead. Yet.

Although this might become Global Nomad: Ireland Edition.

More to follow.

A Day of Rest. And reading.

2010-04-19T06:05:00.002+09:00

My Sunday morning was spent reading in bed. Then there was a great migration to the couch for more reading...then back to the bed, and finally around 4:30 Eamonn and I graced the world with our presence and visited a friend's polish food store. After coming home with gum from Iraq, a yogurt drink from the Middle East but actually made in Germany, and some coconut milk, Eamonn and I moseyed back home and I continued to read while Eamonn made the most amazing Thai green curry.

Now we are watching Superbad and looking up apartments in the South Side on ye olde internet. The South Side is apparently not as nice as the West End, but up and coming and therefore cooler because it's not officially cool yet. We cruised through the South Side after dinner and it reminds me a lot of Adams Avenue in San Diego, an area I always thought about living in after college if I ever moved back to San Diego. Adams Ave is also the area where the fictitious Keith Mar's detective agency is located. Right across from Lesstats, the awesomest--very real--24-hour cafe ever. Hopefully the South Side will live up to its San Diegan counterpart. And hopefully we can find an affordable, two bedroom apartment with bay windows, a big fridge, and lots of closet space.

In no particular order

2010-04-18T03:56:00.003+09:00

It is a beautiful day spliced with beautiful rainclouds.

I've realized dammit is my favorite curse word. I realized this when I didn't feel any shame after yelling "DAMMIT!" into the phone while talking to my great aunt in Florida (whom I haven't spoken to in handfulls of years).

Eamonn and I went to the library to pick up the next Patrick O'Brien book in his favorite series. I ended up leaving with movies and music. Breathless, Ruthless People, Lars and the Real Girl, an old Modest Mouse cd, and an Album Leaf cd I've never heard of before. None of these things ended up being free. Except for the book. Since when does one have to pay for movies and cds from public libraries? I only picked up the Modest Mouse album because I felt nostalgic for 20-year-old-me's music taste. That nostalgia cost me a pound.

Speaking of not wasting money, thanks to the recommendation of a friend I've joined The Hype Machine and now can stream all the music I am too broke to buy, and too stupid to figure out how to download illegally (not for lack of trying; I can't even count the hours wasted on Bit Torrent FAQs).

The Hype Machine is my new best friend, and I am drinking really sweet coffee out of a huge Tinkerbell mug.

What is Narcissism, really?

2010-04-15T17:37:00.002+09:00

Is it narcissistic if I just went back to old posts from when I lived in Japan and laughed at how hilarious some of them are?

Survey says...

Nope!

I've decided to don some comfy shoes and walk to the movie theater. This decision is based on three facts:
a) It's sunnyish and a perfect day for a walk.
b) I should probably go running but I'm still waiting for a new inhaler so a long walk will have to suffice.
c) I would just take the train but I don't want to break a 20 just for a 1.20 subway ticket.

In other news, last night Eamonn and I ate deliicous home made burgers, danced cheek to cheek, and watched last week's episode of Lost.

All I have to say is what the WHAT Charles Whitmore?! You are an evil man, and you deserve to be murdered by Desmond. And seriously Desmond, you have a get out of jail free card for all of the horrible things that horrible guy has done to you. Go ahead and kill him. I want to say I'm looking forward to watching this week's episode tonight, and I suppose that is only true because I loves me the Desmond. And I think he's in it.

2010-04-15T01:17:00.003+09:00

Last winter I made snowflakes out of iridescent clear wrapping paper and blue-tacked them to the living room windows. I also stuck them all over the front door (much to the joy of our gay neighbors down the hall), and all over the kitchen door and bedroom mirrors.

All of the snowflakes are gone except for the ones on the living room windows. I just can't bring myself to take them down, since on sunny days the snow flakes cast a nice pink-purple glow on whatever objects the light lands on.

It's nice. And that's why I haven't taken the snowflakes down yet. In case you weren't wondering.

Also Eamonn's brother pointed out that the snowflake on the right window looks like a pig. I don't see it, but it seems all the more reason to leave it up. For the record I just attempted to take a few pictures of said snowflakes but I failed miserably. Mostly I just held my laptop at awkward angles trying to catch the snowflake just so, and then noticed how dusty my screen is.

Snowflakes aside, today perhaps has been a day of fails. After wasting half my morning working on some data business and the rest of the morning/afternoon lying around telling myself "I should go outside," I finally went out with desires to read in the park, then hit the bead store for some brooch pins so I can crochet some accessories to possibly sell. Once I finally made it out into the glorious sunshine, it was magnificent. I picked up the overpriced brooch pins in the bead shop, then promptly put them back because they are seriously joking with the prices. I've been in that bead shop before and not bought anything, so I guiltily walked around the store longer than I wanted with pretenses to get something else.

Which I didn't.

Brooch purchase failure complete, I grabbed a delicious looking egg and cress on wheat sandwich from Tesco and sat in the grass to read.

This started out nice, except since it was later in the day, and it is sunny but not yet warm, I got a little cold. And now here I am, back at home, no brooches, a bit of sun--less than I would have liked--and some nice snowflake reflections on my coffee table.

Failures aside, I feel pretty good. It's hard to feel lousy with this beautiful, amazing, sunny sunshine shining all sunny-like.

[edit] That was actually written on a Wednesday afternoon. I have no idea why blogger labeled it Thursday at 1 in the morning.

What's with today, today?

2010-04-14T18:41:00.002+09:00

Today, the weather is beautiful.

Yesterday, not so much.

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday?

GORGEOUS.

I'm talking so sunny, pasty Brits were peeling off their clothes in the park.
So sunny, pasty Brits were sneaking booze into the park.
So sunny, no one seemed to care that some jerk was playing Paolo Nutini and Kings of Leon a little too loud on their stereo in the park.
So sunny, I longed for sunglasses.

Today is one of those days.

I have to get out of this room before noon and out into the sun!

Sucks to YOUR asthmar!

2010-04-14T03:08:00.002+09:00

After weeks of attempting to run and getting all kinds of wheezy, and finding out that my inhaler expired and it in fact doesn't work once expired, I am happy to announce that by the end of the week I am getting a new, potentially free, inhaler! Huzza! My quest to keep exercising will no longer be dampened by asthma. It will only suffer my ongoing desire to lie around and do nothing. I am, however, accumulating quite a pile of running accessories: keys, ipod, inhaler, stopwatch. I'm definitely running the risk of becoming a runner with a fanny pack. Or bum bag for the brits, since fanny is a funny word for a vagina over here.

I think it needs to be said neither Eamonn nor I have been to this early Saturday morning Parkrun yet. I think we enjoy threatening each other with going to Park Run on Friday nights, then drink too much and wake up late Saturday morning with thoughts of eggs and bacon while the word "PARK RUN" silently floats out the window in a dejected thought bubble.

Where is Spring?

2010-03-27T01:43:00.004+09:00

I've been busy doing the crafting and the running, and the result is:

Feeling fit
And looking awesome

Excellent results if I don't say so myself! In other news, per Eamonn's idea, Eamonn and I have joined Parkrun. There are Parkruns all over the world, and a couple in Scotland so far. Apparently it makes running fun. Mostly it will force us to get up before noon on Saturdays. And running in parks is nice. Why, just the other day I was running in Kelvingrove Park and had tons of fun chasing a duck off the sidewalk. I have no idea how this Parkrun is going to be, but based on their very cool website, I'm hoping for fun. I do know, however, that the weather is currently miserable, which makes me think running tomorrow morning will not be really wet and gloomy.

In other news, I have made some more fun projects, like this one!
Ta-Da! For some reason my computer's camera dulls down all color. This scarf-necklace creation is actually fire-engine red. And super comfy! It's also made using that fantastic thick yarn little kids in the Brady Bunch used to tie in their pigtails. The fun thing about this yarn is that the closest place that sells it is a super-creepy indoor "market" down the street from my apartment. This market is two steps from a black-market garage sale. Aside from their swell yarn collection, one can also buy ugly photographs put on canvas, ugly lampshades, tacky greeting cards, and really lame cheap books. Not to mention a whole lot of kitsch for home-decorating. I personally like the collection of Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones sticker books they sell for a pound.

That is all for now. This weekend, in an attempt to undo all of my good running, I plan on making biscuits from a recipe I found using only two ingredients. Mostly this biscuit craving comes from a failed attempt to get some at KFC. Apparently to run a KFC in Scotland, one doesn't have to sell mashed potatoes, biscuits, or corn. It's appalling and depressing. I've also had better popcorn chicken at an AM PM.

Crochet me Pretty

2010-03-12T23:46:00.003+09:00

True to form, I am consciously evolving into a crocheting, blogging freak.

Thanks to an amazing website I will link to soon, I made this! I've also made one in black, which in theory was a good idea, but I forgot that I have the darkest brown hair ever. So you can barely tell there's a black bow perched in it. Perhaps I will gift the black one to someone else.

The World I Live In

2010-03-12T21:01:00.002+09:00

I am on a big campaign to get in shape, and am currently on a plan that has me building up to eventually running for 30 minutes straight. Basically six days a week I do variations of running for some time and walking for some time, repeated a certain number of times. I believe it takes 8 weeks, and I am on week 4. Although I did sort of skip week 1 and 2 because it was cold and I'm lazy. The major battle is getting enough enthusiasm going to actually put the appropriate clothes on and go outside. Once I'm out there, doing my thing, I get into the work-out zone and all is well.

I've been doing pretty well this week of getting my exercising ducks in a row, and yesterday, while speed-walking from my apartment to the park, I found my groove most noticeably ruined by a small old man who stopped in front of me and started talking to me. I had to stop, take out my headphones, and say "Sorry?"
Old Man: "Can ya spare some change for a wee cuppa tea?"
Me: "I don't have any money."

Which was true. I was also kind of annoyed because (1) no one ever approaches me in the streets and I was momentarily excited about what this old man had to say, and (2) I didn't want to stop walking, and I was listening to a good podcast that now I would have to rewind. Major disappointment all around. Thanks a lot Old Man Junkie.

But it doesn't end there.

Imagine my surprise when 30 minutes later, on my way back home from the park, I was stopped by the same old guy. This time he was a few blocks further down the road, and I didn't even waste time taking out my headphones to say, "I STILL don't have any money."

These are the kinds of things that make me think going to a gym would be better. That and in the gym, you don't have to dodge smokers.

Vernacular Schmernacular

2010-03-10T18:30:00.002+09:00

In trying not to be like Jennifer Coolidge's character in Friends (who comes back from England and puts on a fake accent) and not pepper my sentences with British words like flat, mobile, and mate, I feel I am engaged in a constant struggle to retain my own sense of vernacular identity. But words keep sneaking in. Things like "oh it's no bother," and "that's rubbish!" I have fully embraced the word poppycock for obvious reasons, but everything else just feels weird when I say it. I also refuse to say trousers instead of pants, which has made for quite a few awkward situations where someone thinks I am talking about my underwear. I've come to embrace those particular situations though. Those are just funny.

Then there are the cultural things that I have taken note of, and decided, "Not in my house." Like a breadbox. Or breadbin. I'm pretty sure even junkies in government housing have breadboxes. I personally like my bread out of the fridge. Breadboxes just seem to take up an unnecessary amount of counter space.

These are all pretty cliche variations in language. There are tons of other, more "Glaswegian" words that I could go into, but to be quite honest, I don't really understand them at all. I can't pick them out in a sentence, I can't say them, I don't know what they mean, and when the repairman comes over with a friend, and they are chatting about why the bathroom fan is broken, I swear it sounds like another language.

There's another word that snuck in: chatting.

It's happening, and apparently I can't stop it.

Wow

2010-03-03T07:22:00.002+09:00

After two days of babysitting a certain very cute baby, I am physically and mentally exhausted.

I remember in junior high everyone had to take care of a baby doll for a weekend. Only the baby doll would do things like cry and be hungry and if you didn't tend to it (by putting a key in the back and then holding the key in a specific way) the baby would record its maltreatment in some kind of chip. This record would then turn into a grade. It was simultaneously embarrassing, annoying, and stressful to drag this stupid plastic baby around all weekend--to dance class, restaurants, karate, church...and not be able to punt it over a fence.

Clearly the whole point was to show teenagers how not-fun having a baby is, and illuminate us tweens to the horrors of teen pregnancy.

At 13 I totally got that, but I must say: after these past two days of feeding, diapers, holding, dancing, singing, and constant attention, I think I've renewed my 13-year-old anti-baby sentiments. There is no way in hell I want one of those until I am (1) 30 or older (2) have matured enough that I have no desire for a night life at all (so maybe I'll be 50), (3) have grown a third arm (you know, to hold the baby while the other two arms do normal things. Like eat), and (4) can afford a maid to manage the upkeep of my home while I grow gray hairs trying to take care of a cute screaming pile of baby.

And now it's 10:30pm and I'm too tired to stay awake. Do you see what's happened to me? Two days and suddenly I'm going to bed with senior citizens!

2010-02-26T18:56:00.003+09:00

Remember that day when the sun came out? Well it only lasted 45 minutes.

Even though it's supposedly spring, it snowed two days ago, then rained the day after that. Needless to say, finding motivation to go outside is pretty difficult.

So let's go back in time. Eamonn's birthday was in early February, and it was an awesome week full of home-made burgers, crocheted hats, amazing cupcakes with cookie dough in the middle, and too much Star Wars. Did I mention I made the burgers and cupcakes? The week ended with a legendary night of Karaoke in Ashton Lane, and a really bad, drunk attempt at acrobats which left my back sore for two weeks.

So that was fun!

The karaoke night definitely left me wanting more. There seem to be quite a few karaoke places in Glasgow and I am on a mission to try them all out. I loves me the karaoke!!

I also have a pseudo-job which keeps me relatively busy during the day, which is nice. The job requires me to make a database on Microsoft Access, which could be optimistically described as a fun challenge.

In this long gap between posts I've also noticed I'm not the only one who hides when the weather is awful. On a rainy Wednesday night Eamonn and I met two friends and saw a movie downtown. Usually one has to wait in the longest line on the planet on Wednesday nights because it's "buy a ticket, get one free with Orange mobile phones" day (aka Orange Wednesdays). On this particular Wednesday, however, there was no line! I suspect the constant rain all day. Or perhaps everyone had already seen Valentine's Day and Avatar.

I've been watching a whole lot of the Olympics and while BBC coverage is pretty good, I'm sad I'm not getting that annoying American coverage everyone keeps complaining about. Coverage aside, I am loving the skating but can't believe Ice Dancing is an actual category. It's awful. I'm also annoyed I won't be able to watch the Oscars unless I have some HBO-type channel controlled by Sky TV. I could have watched the BAFTAs, but let's face it: no one cares.

And that's all folks! I'll be watching the world's heaviest baby next week, and possibly even go to a "baby class." Should be great fun in a "I can't believe this exists" kind of way. Said big baby also loves watching Glee, and apparently enjoys music in general. I plan on bringing my ipod and blowing his baby mind with some broadway tunes.

Come Again?

2010-02-17T18:29:00.002+09:00

There are two (Scottish) repair men in my bathroom kitted with ladders, tools, and god knows what else. They're trying to fix the bathroom fan and to be honest, in the past ten minutes since they've started tinkering in there, I can't understand a single word they are saying. I guess it's English, but no English that I could tell you about.

How does that happen??

THE SUN!

2010-02-15T21:44:00.002+09:00

THE SUN IS OUT THE SUN IS OUT THE SUN IS OUT!!!

I was going to write but I've just noticed the sun is out and I must go bask in it's glory before I get jaundice!!!!!!!!

HOLY CRAP THE SUN IS OUT!!!

Here's a teaser of things to come:

Legendary birthday weeks
Back-breaking (almost) acrobatics
The MC Hammer dance
Epic Glasgow Karaoke
Laundry
Mash

Do I have you on pins and needles? Probably not. But I don't care because the. sun. is. out.

Getting Lame fast

2010-01-28T22:18:00.001+09:00

I'm such a freak, I just joined a crochet forum to get help because my blocking board smells like poo.

Which is not normal.

You probably have no idea what I'm talking about. It's better that way.

Cabin Fever? Why yes I have it.

2010-01-28T02:07:00.003+09:00

Did I mention tonight Eamonn's making dumplings? They accompany a stew with braised beef which was made last night and it smells AMAZING.

I wish I could photograph the dumpling-making but my new camera battery hasn't arrived in the mail yet. I wonder if I can still charge the old battery and squeeze a few photos out before it dies...

Speaking of things arriving in the mail, I am patiently waiting the arrival of a 10mm crochet hook so I can make this hooded cowl, and a book on how to crochet all kinds of really awesome flowers. I also just sent Youth in Revolt to Japan (for a friend), and my visa app to some people who I hope will love it and accept me as one of their people.

And This

2010-01-27T23:49:00.001+09:00

...and filling my time laughing at things like this

(Wait 'till the end!)

What's the Haps?

2010-01-27T23:46:00.001+09:00

Thanks to the beauty of Facebook, I was able to wish a relative I've seen three times in my life a Happy Birthday. Then I found myself engaged in a back-and forth about what I am up to. I think this will be the general answer I give from now on:

I am in Scotland, waging an epic battle with the UK border agency for a work visa. Potentially, congressmen will be involved. In the meantime, I listen to a lot of talk radio from America and crochet hats, scarves, and various other accessories. What are you up to these days?

I may never be warm again

2010-01-27T04:34:00.006+09:00

Last night I was two steps away from putting a straw in a bottle of Pepto-Bismol and sipping it like there's no tomorrow. I don't know what could possibly have made me feel that awful. I could feel the bile gurgling somewhere near my lungs. It couldn't possibly be the bagel and lox I had for lunch/dinner. Or the latte I drank after. Definitely not.

Sadly it's been about ten days since my proud crocheted contest entry and I have yet to make another one. I blame a few things: mainly Eamonn having four days off, and the need to crank out a baby gift for what I think will be the last baptism I'll have to attend for a while. Speaking of baptisms, I've never been to church so much in one year. Luckily the first two babies were baptized together. Not that church is so tortuous, I'd just rather not go. I like sleeping in. Plus even though it's the same religion, Scottish Catholic masses are curiously different from American ones. Mainly the Our Father. A prayer I know better than the pledge of allegiance, despite the fact that I haven't regularly gone to mass since I was 14. There also seems to be a considerable amount of church gossip around here. Maybe I was just too young to partake in the slandering of fellow parishioners in San Diego, but I find it hilarious how much chatter I hear about people at church (or the priests themselves!).

On Eamonn's days off we decided to leave our happy apartment and lovely houseplants for the privacy of North Berwick's beachy countryside. Aside from sleeping in and watching insane amounts of Arrested Development, we visited two mind-blowing, surprisingly steadfast, castles. Of all the castles I've seen so far, these two are my favorite. First was Dirleton Castle: incredibly large, with it's own moat, private chapel, prison, and various toilets--all surprisingly in tact (that is if you consider a hole in a rock which leads to the moat as a working loo). The second castle, Tantallon Castle, was on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Considering 3/4 of it is completely eroded thanks to time and the salty breeze, there was a considerable amount left to explore. I'll save the extensive praise for when I upload pictures. Sadly my photographing was cut drastically short while exploring Tantallon castle. Apparently my camera battery chose that day to die, after 4 years of faithful service. I guess that's pretty good for a lithium rechargeable battery.

Luckily we are now proud members of Historic Scotland, which means free entry to castles and re-returns to our faves (Tantallon, Dirleton, Stirling, Edinburgh, and Hermitage--to name a few). I'm also very excited about the 20% discount we get in gift shops--for all my post-card and Loch Ness Monster souvenirs.

In other news, I have been battling bad-weather gloom by powering through books-turned movies. First was The Road. I thought the filmed version was almost exactly like the book, which despite being very good, gave me incredibly creepy, disturbing dreams. Now I've just finished Youth in Revolt and I'm very excited to see the filmed version. Considering the book is incredibly funny, and Michael Cera plays the lead role (accompanied by such fantastic supporting actors as Justin Long and Zach Galifianakis), I expect great things.

And now, after all this rambling, I must dedicate some time to hugging my pepto bismol while double-checking phase 1 of a 3-part plan to open up a can of whoopass on a certain border agency.

Whew!

2010-01-17T00:12:00.002+09:00

I've been busy crafting up a storm.

TA DA!!!

I'm trying to make as many entries as I can, to up the chances of winning.

In other news, it's stopped snowing, but now there's drizzling and occasional sleet.

Let's just say I don't go outside much.

It's SNOWING!!!

2010-01-09T19:45:00.002+09:00

Pretty much every day when I get up there's a new covering of snow on the ground, and amazing icicle formations all over the place.

I need to take more pictures of this business!!

Apparently there haven't been crazy snowy winters like this in Scotland for years and years and years. And years.

Bliss

2010-01-07T23:05:00.002+09:00

Right now I'm sitting on the couch, listening to my favorite podcast Too Beautiful To Live, and sipping tea.

I just consumed a very amazing whole wheat, open-faced bagel with half a cheese and cilantro omelet piled on top. With tomato. With a glass of orange mango juice. Did I mention the cheese was made in some crazy island somewhere in Scotland? I think every island makes its own special cheese.

Before all this I walked for an hour around the West End, including a massive circle around the snow-covered botanical garden, and mailed of one very important package and two not-so-important packages.

Now I'm going to turn down Too Beautiful To Live (heretofore referred to as TBTL), turn up the Ella Fitzgerald sings the Cole Porter song book (thanks mom), and crack open a copy of The Road I picked up yesterday.

Yep. I am in bliss.

New Fresh Clean...All things associated with a new year and starting over...

2010-01-06T04:00:00.005+09:00

Alright. Here we are. Wednesday, January 6, 2010.

It's the dawn of a new era. An Era which can claim "1910 was 100 years ago."

What does this mean for me?

Less sea salt and vinegar potato chips in my life.
Less Ben and Jerry's Brownie Fudge ice cream in my life (this is going to be hard).
Less bread in my life (haha yeah right!).
More Billy Blanks in my life. 5 times a week. Ok maybe 4. That bastard makes me buff.
More flossing in my life.
And finally...
More birthday cards send to family and friends. In my life.

In British terms, "I have gained a stone."
In my terms, I'm freakin' fat and feel gross.
Speaking of "stones" I understand Bridget Jones' Diary so much more since moving to the UK.

What does this all mean for the blog?

I'm so glad you asked. I don't seem to be writing as much because unlike my time in Japan--which was full of really strange, amusing, note-worthy occurrences on an hourly basis--there just isn't enough bizarre to go around in Scotland. So I'll have to revert to a style much like what I was writing before I left for the Orient. A style that perhaps waxes poetic about how much I love Jason Segel's comedic genius. Which in fact has very little to do with Scotland. Oh except his character in How I Met Your Mother is really into the Loch Ness Monster and haunted castles.

I digress. This is not talk-about-how-awesome-How-I-Met-Your-Mother is.

The point is, I will be back on a more regular basis, saying more things like "finding motivation to exercise is easy in Glasgow because there are fat people eating greasy things everywhere you look" and less things like "Whoa living abroad is wacky!"

It is wacky though, isn't it?

Winter Holidays in Scotland Means...

2009-12-31T02:49:00.003+09:00

Amazing episodes of Wallace and Grommit on TV constantly.
Slipping on black ice but (miraculously) never actually falling down.
Babies wearing Santa costumes.
Cheese plates. Glorious plates of cheese.
Justifying the wearing of Ugg boots.
Fingerless gloves being a staple of every outfit.
Did I mention cheese plates?

Eamonn's making muscles in some kind of tasty garlic sauce tonight, followed by some yummy stuffed peppers I made in the slow cooker. Mmm mmm mmm.

Then tomorrow it's family time followed by friends and boozing time (what better way to ring in the new year?!).

And that, my friends, is the end of 2009 for me.

Still Snowing

2009-12-23T04:24:00.003+09:00

It took Eamonn 3 hours to drive home from work. Usually it takes 30 minutes or so. Maybe less I think. Apparently snowy roads in Scotland are as confusing and dangerous to navigate for drivers as rainy days in San Diego.

I don't have to drive though. And I quite enjoy watching the snow fall ever so slowly from the comfort of my warm apartment.

Also I'm sick and don't really have the motivation to go outside.

There is one plus to being outside in the insane amounts of snow: drunk people slipping on black ice.

Funny every time!!

Except when it happens to me.

Bets are in!

2009-12-18T19:25:00.003+09:00

It snowed yesterday. Did you know you can bet on whether or not it will be a white Christmas??

It was beautiful! I didn't realize how slowly snow actually falls.

Faster than I would have guessed everything was covered in snow and it looked like something out of a Christmas card.

It was all very fun and exciting except for the part where some roads weren't gritted (covered in sand and salt) which meant scary driving time.

But that was all upstaged by adorable children dragging sleds full of snow and throwing said snow at passing cars. Apparently they do that. And that's awesome!

2009-12-16T22:22:00.002+09:00

Today is a special day...it is a the day that the most amazing lady in the world was born.

That's right.

My mom.Yep, she had me when she was 5 years old.

Cat Paws?

2009-12-11T23:29:00.002+09:00

I'm not so sure I agree with Carl Sandburg about fog coming in on cat feet, but I must say it is so insanely foggy outside, the buildings across the street from my apartment are mere silhouettes.

The internet says it's 36 degrees F outside. I can't verify this because I am hiding in where it's warm and fog free.

Comfort Envy

2009-12-11T02:05:00.002+09:00

As someone with friends and family living all over the world, and someone who occasionally sells stuff on Ebay, I find myself having to go to the post office quite a lot. The post office in my neighborhood is a miserable place, with a very long line and excessive amounts of children playing with stuff in the office that are not toys (like the passport photo booth). Most people who are standing in line at the post office (and yes, there is always a line) look like they'd rather be dead. Or waterboarded. Whichever's worse.

For these reasons I have a routine. First, I make sure I am very bundled up to whatever degree accomodates the extreme cold weather that knows no boundaries (such as post office walls), and everything I want to mail is easily accessible in an eco bag of some sort (so I don't have to hold them in my hand--less things fall on the sticky ground this way). Then I make sure my podcasts are up to date so I have something excellent to listen to. And finally, before I even walk into the post office, I go to Greggs, a bakery conveniently next door and purchase some sort of cookie or cupcake. Once all this is done, I pleasantly stand in line eating my cupcake, listening to a podcast, in absolute bliss, while people stare at me as if I am some kind of affont to the misery that is waiting in line at the post office.

I don't really care much for these annoyed, judging looks. It's their own fault for not being prepared.

British TV loves my Governor

2009-12-10T09:03:00.002+09:00

Last week Eamonn and I caught Total Recall on TV. It was AWESOME. Especially for the great Arnie one liners (ie "See you at the party Victor!")

Then in North Berwick we watched Kindergarden Cop (also on TV).

Then there was an ad for that film he's in with Jamie Lee Curtis. It'll be on TV soon.

And as if that wasn't good enough, Eamonn borrowed Running Man, Predator, Twins, and True Lies.

Loooooooove it!

Brrr.

2009-12-02T22:43:00.002+09:00

Frost. On the roofs, on the cars, frosted dog crap on the side walk, frost-covered puddles of mud in the gutter. My toes are frosted. Someone spit on the ground and that too was covered in frost.

It's so cold. So so so cold.

Scotland Factoids

2009-12-01T02:01:00.002+09:00

Some fun facts about Scotland from Eamonn (some of these facts are common knowledge, unbeknown to me until Eamonn drops some knowledge):

Fact 1: "Sometimes it's too cold to rain." This said to me when we were on our way to see Eddie Izzard and I said, "Oh man I forgot my umbrella" to which Eamonn replied, "Oh you won't need it, it's way too cold to rain." My first reaction was, "Oh right, because then it would snow." Which is one of the not very well thought out thoughts I've had. So there you have it. It gets so damn cold here that the rain says "Screw that noise, I'd rather just hang out in these clouds where it's warm."

Fact 2: "If you're going to be stabbed anywhere in the world, Glasgow is the best place to get shanked" (he didn't say 'shanked'). There have been so many stabbings in Glasgow that doctors have actually perfected the method of sawing open the chest and doing what needs to get done in order to repair stabbed organs. I was really interested in this and wanted more details about this perfected method but Eamonn was driving while trying not to vomit thinking of said procedures so I dropped it. I find this fact very sad though. It's pretty morbid to say "Due to the insane number of stabbings here in Scotland, we have perfected the art of fixing up stab wounds."

Fact 3: In the wrong place at the wrong time, your allegiance to your favorite soccer (or football depending on what kind of English you prefer) team can get you seriously beat up or perhaps worse. Without writing a dissertation about this I'll try to explain. The two biggest teams in Scotland are Celtic (green and white colors) and Rangers (blue colors). These two teams have a rivalry that puts Cain and Abel to shame. This rivalry goes back so long, it's referred to as "The Old Firm" and has various roots in mutual hate. One is Catholics vs. Protestants, the other is something about Northern Ireland politics (Loyalist and Replublican), and pretty vs ugly people (that's my own personal opinion--I find Rangers fans to be big ogre-like ugly people). Various other soccer teams in Scotland have alliances to each of these teams; ie such-and-such team supports Celtic and and therefore hate Rangers. Things are so intense, Eamonn and his cousin were telling me that when they were kids, they were given Celtic tops as a gift and their parents wouldn't allow them to be worn outside the house. Or they'd have to heavily cover up until walking into the stadium and unleashing the team colors in all their glory. All of this has made me incredibly cautious when in Rangers-friendly areas, or even going out the day of a Rangers game (there are usually fights and scary drunk fans in the street). Keeping all of this in mind, let me tell you a fun story:

This past weekend Eamonn and I went to Oban to visit his cousin and see the countryside in all it's freezing oceanside glory. We took a ferry over to the island of Mull, a very small lovely island with cool oceanfront houses painted in various colors. There isn't much to do there, and a friend of Eamonn's cousin recommended going to what he said was the best bar in Mull. We were walking into said bar, glad to get out of the cold and have a nice drink, when we stopped at the door to stare at the TV. A game was on, with a bunch of blue men running around kicking a ball against a bunch of maroon-looking guys. Seeing life-size men all over the bar wearing the same blue shirts, I immedialy thought "Uh Oh. Rangers fans. Rangers game. No good." Right as I was thinking this, the maroon team scored a goal and Eamonn, being the huge Celitc fan he is, let out a VERY audible "YESSSS!"

It was like slow motion. I looked in horror as every giant Rangers fan in a shiny Rangers shirt looked at us with hate in their eyes. As if controlled by an invisible arm I was out of the bar faster than lightning and the three of us briskly walked away from the bar, razzing Eamonn for his idiotic outburst and counting our blessings that we escaped unscathed.

More fun facts to follow, for now it's tea time and I'm hungry for home-baked pecan pie (that's right, I made a pie).

Thanksgiving Edition

2009-11-26T20:23:00.002+09:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!

This Thanksgiving will be the first in my life where I will not be surrounded by family or in last year's case, friends and an amazing array of delicious American-style food in the center of Tokyo.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday (of course Halloween is a close second), and considering that I currently have no friends yet (at least not the usual number considered normal for a festive celebration of any kind), and no family this holiday season, Thanksgiving is either in my hands or not happening at all. So this weekend Eamonn and I are going up to Oban to visit his cousin who manages a whiskey distillery. Since his cousin just came back from living in the states for quite a while, he's pretty keen on American traditions and therefore Thanksgiving in a distillery it is!

After a melt down last night when I couldn't find the necessary ingredients to make what I needed to have a very merry Thanksgiving, Eamonn helped me pull it together and below is the menu, all--for the first time in the 25 years I have been alive--made by ME! This is a big deal. I don't really cook beyond eggs and slow cooker recipies. Oh and quiche.

Without further ado, what will make me fatter this November:

Pumpkin Soup
Garlic Herb Roasted Turkey Breast
Santa Fe Turkey Stuffing
Herby Mashed Potatoes
"Italian Style" Green Beans
Pecan Pie (with home made crust and NO Karo syrup!)

I tried to find things that used a lot of the same ingredients so I don't have to buy a lot of stuff but alas, a lot of random (probably expensive) things snuck onto the menu. Things like bread crumbs, sage, and some kind of green chili thing. I can tell you one thing, I am cooking with a whole LOT of butter. mmm mmm mmmmmm.

I'm dreading the final cost of all this. Being a grownup and getting what I want is expensive.

Wind in the Willows

2009-11-25T20:16:00.003+09:00

To say it's raining cats and dogs would be an understatement.

Wind is rushing through the vents of my windows as if blowing through a giant whistle. Rain is pelting the windows with such force, you'd think mother nature wanted to break in.

I have very important plans to run errands around town but every time water droplets the size of caged animals slam against the window I shrink further into my warm, soft sofa.

Did I mention the sofa is dry?

Weather update

2009-11-19T21:14:00.003+09:00

As if looking out the window isn't easy enough, I have a fancy Google mail theme that reflects the weather of wherever I'm living. If it's sunny, then there's a cartoon sunny day with cartoon characters eating ice cream and wearing sunglasses at a bus stop. If it's snowing, then there's a snowman that grows as tall as your inbox is full. If it's raining, all of the characters have umbrellas and one of them is snorkeling in a puddle. My favorite is lightening storms: a cartoon Benjamin Franklin is flying a kite. Just now, as I logged into my email account, I noticed that not only did the weather image show rain (which is pretty normal), but the rain was coming in at a violent angle. Right as I was thinking "It's raining sideways?" Angular rain pelted my window for a good minute before changing directions.

It's good that the weather is keeping up to date with my Gmail weather theme.

The greatest gift of all

2009-11-18T21:41:00.003+09:00

I wanted to dedicate this day, my birthday, to BBC Radio 4. Not only do they provide excellent radio theatre for those long drives, but between 11pm and midnight every night, BBC Radio 4 sends a transmission to my apartment which activates a hot water storage tank system, which then fills a giant huge black tub in my utility closet with hot water (for all things hot-water related that don't involve actually taking a shower). But wait, it doesn't stop there!

BBC Radio 4 also sends a transmission to activate the heater in my living room. Then for the next seven hours, said heater gathers up heat and stores them in special bricks stacked inside the heater. At 7 am the transmission ends, and I have a nice toasty heater to use throughout the day without burning extra electricity.

So to recap....

BBC Radio 4 is great: Radio theatre, hot water, and a warm heater!

Whee!!

2009-11-18T21:32:00.001+09:00

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to meeeeeeeeee, Happy Birthday to me!

I have a sore throat but that can't deter me from enjoying my first birthday in Scotland!

Success!

2009-11-16T23:02:00.003+09:00

Forget the podcasts for blog inspiration; new title, new picture, new stuff, yay for change!

I can't say the same for the weather outside though. It's just rain rain rain and more rain. Not worth getting excited about.

Something that is worth getting excited about though is cheese. Every time Eamonn gets on his soap box about how great all things Scotland are, I tend to stand on my own "America is just as awesome" soap box without really listening. Which is wrong (sometimes) because there are some things that are just better out here.

Thing number one:

Cheese.

I didn't think it could be true that cheese could get any better than the various quantities and qualities available all across America but I was wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. Cheese here versus cheese in America is like buying Cheerios instead of Toasted Oats. Toasted Oats may look like Cheerios, be similar if not lower in price to Cheerios, but at the end of the day they just don't taste as good as the real deal. One can spend an entire lifetime happily eating Toasted Oats. But beware of that one day when the box of Cheerios is opened and life is over as you know it.

For me, that is Scottish Cheese. There are so many different kinds, I could spend hours in the cheese aisle picking out my next savory treat. Even simple cheeses like Cheddar are just plain better! And there are no impostors hanging around in the cheese aisle, no individually wrapped blasphemous disgusting chemical concoctions from companies like Kraft.

The ironic thing about this is despite all of the amazing varieties of quality cheeses that I would readily roll in if permitted, Eamonn doesn't even like cheese! Aside from mozarella and the occasional shredded cheddar that I sneak in the egg batter for morning scrambled eggs, he could care less. I don't mind though: more cheese for me!

2009-11-16T22:06:00.003+09:00

I'm really not a huge fan of the altered name of the blog. I chose Tokyo Variations when I was in Japan because it was a funny homage to a Christmas play I stage managed back in San Diego, and it was (obviously) appropriate for my new stomping ground.

But now Variations sounds like some column in Reader's Digest where a 38 year old home maker writes about life with her new born baby. On a farm.

My mind isn't really working at full capacity due to lack of stimulation since my routine consists of watching Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, crocheting, and listening to hours of various podcasts.

The podcasts are stimulating. Hmm. I'll look for something there.

Three things

2009-11-12T21:50:00.003+09:00

First I'd just like to say that I just OD'd (and yes I looked up the correct spelling for the slang of overdosed) on free crochet patterns on Lion Brand Yarn's website. I had grand plans to go on a walk for an hour/hour and a half today but now I think that is impossible because I will have to spend the rest of the day attempting to crochet all of these patterns I have downloaded. But I'll have to make sure to leave time to shower and style my newly awesome haircut.

Haircut! I had intentions of writing about three exciting things (exciting to me) and I seem to have started in an order that is not cronological.

So....working backwards starting with this morning's overdose on crochet and moving on to...

Yesterday. First--some backstory: I can go for about a month to two months without getting a haircut. I never actually look at a calendar and say "it's time to get a haircut," but instead one day I'll be trying to do my hair and for a reason seemingly inexplicable nothing is working. The next day is the same problem. Many clips and hats and hairbands later it finally dawns on me: I definitely need a haircut. I don't know if this is just me, or if this happens to other people, but the minute I realize I need a haircut I have to have one right away. I can't wait. I must go to the salon, have my scalp meticulously massaged, receive compliments on my awesomely curly hair, and trade stupid stories with the stylist. I. Love. Getting. My. Haircut. It's the best. Best best best best best.

Alright back to yesterday: I tried to make an online appointment to get my wig split (there's a 5 pound discount for online appointments) but that would mean that I'd have to go the next day istead of right away. Then I remembered there's a 5 pound discount for walkins. This salon is pretty expensive in general, but they have tiers of prices based on the type of stylist. There's the 30 pound "trainee" stylist, the 34 pound not-so-trainee stylist, the 39 pount pretty experienced stylist, and so on. The highest is the 60 pound resident stylist manager person. 60 pounds though? Yeah right. Hoping for the best, I strolled in and wha-la! There was an opening, but only with a 39 pound stylist. I thought about walking out and making an appointment for the next day with a trainee, but every hair on my scalp seemed to scream "Pllllllease?!??!?" So I stayed. I justified it by saying it was my own pre-birthday present to myself.

I've already talked way too much about the process of getting a haircut so let me just say it was AMAZING and I'm not sure I can ever go back to the 30 pound stylist again. I am IN LOVE with the man who cut my hair (in a purely hair-based way) and will now definitely have to get a job very fast to keep the haircuts rolling in. The sneaky bastard also got me hooked on a new goopy curly hair cream. Which is a surprising feat since I'm a devout user of Aveda's curl enhancing cream. Too bad for Aveda, I can't find the salon that sells their product in Glasgow so I'm all about switching anyway.

Where was I? Crochet overdose, haircut bliss...what's next?

My Birthday! It's a mere 6 days away and Eamonn bought me the BEST PRESENT EVER. It was an early present for reasons that you will understand in the next sentence. For my birthday Eamonn bought tickets to see Eddie Izzard! We went on Tuesday and it was amazing! He seems to have toned down the fancy dress (although he did rock a fantastic black waistcoat with coat tails that had red lining. It was wonderful and hilarious and my mouth hurt from laughing so much.

So there are my three exciting things that I felt needed to be shared.

Now I am going to finish crocheting a puff hat while listening to Too Beautiful to Live. And what are the odds...just as I typed that, two crochet books I ordered from Amazon have just been shoved through the mail slot!!!

And I'm off!

2009-11-10T00:11:00.005+09:00

I was feeling really apprehensive about working my way into the production crew of this play but let me tell you, two days and one new black sweatshirt later, I am on the crew. I am working with a bunch of theater students (which is weird because I am not a student and therefore on a totally different wave length) and a few volunteers and having surprising amounts of fun making up new lyrics to overdone classics. I'm not really sure if working on this play will lead to anything in the future, but I have met some cool new people as well as finally succumbing to the call of a cell phone (and yes, I crocheted my new celly a very special case, because I'm just that awesome).

It's definitely rough getting into the swing of technical theater again after a year of doing nothing related to working on shows. Especially when new jargon is thrown at me and I'm left thinking "hmm they keep saying interval and this feels like intermission so I'm going to write that off as the British version. Scottish theater also seems to love having various stages of stage managers and assistant stage managers--much more than in the states, which I suppose is good for giving people more work but forced me to do a lot of "wait, so what does so-and-so actually do?"

And on that note I'm catching the student caravan to the suburbia where this play goes up so I'm off to downtown Scotland (or as they call it "City Center").

I almost forgot, while I'm off pushing around set pieces, poor Eamonn has to come home alone after spending a weekend alone. I don't think lawyer schedules work so well with technician schedules.

Yarg

2009-11-07T18:15:00.003+09:00

I'm about to spend the day in a not-so-favorable town and try to force (in a friendly manner) my way into the technical crew of a production of an overdone American musical. Wish me luck.

November November The Best Month November!

2009-11-05T20:53:00.002+09:00

Well, Halloween has come and gone (I was a ned--Scottish white trash--it was fun), and fall is in full swing. My birthday is coming up so to commemorate the big day I'm having a Mustache Housewarming Birthday Party. Housewarming because let's face it, I currently have two actual friends and the rest are Eamonn's so it makes it easier to justify inviting people who don't know me over; Birthday because I'm awesome and a year older; and Mustache because well, do I need a reason!? Mustaches are awesome!

Now that there's more than a couple people potentially coming over to the apartment, I have kicked the getting-the-apartment-looking-cool into high gear. Yesterday I decorated some pretty sweet frames with pictures and postcards Eamonn and I have had in a pile forever. I even scrounged up a postcard of Florence that I bought on a grand, very immature romp of Europe seven years ago. Complete with never-been-used Dutch and Italaian stamps decoupaged on the frame. Finally my lazyness is useful (albeit seven years between purchase and use). Once they're up on the wall I'll put pictures.

In other news I've also been crocheting up a storm. So far I've made 4 baby hats, two pairs of baby mitts, 6 adult-sized hats, and a handful of cute decorative flowers (for the girly hats). I'm currently working on a baby blanket that (hopefully) will be awesome. It's my first time making granny squares (shockingly easy) and assembling said granny squares into something resembling a blanket. So far I just have 13 granny squares in a pile.

Since dedicating all this free time to learning how to crochet the right way (instead of the old figure-it-out-myself way) I've been cruising the internet like a madwoman looking at patterns, forums, and a shocking number of really lame blogs about crocheting. I've found that men and women alike make said blogs and post all kinds of incredibly UGLY things they've made. I'm talking crocheted brown coffee cup hats complete with foam and two crocheted cookies attached to the saucer. Oddly enough, most of the male crochet blogs actually have some pretty good designs. But those bastards won't share their patterns without some payment. Jerks.

I've also found that affordable yarn is found on the internet (and definitely not in Glasgow, I've hunted down every craft store in the area), but often website pictures can be deceiving, as I now own a ball of ugly neon green yarn flecked with hot pink and yellow (it looked like pastel colors on the internet, which was perfect for this baby blanket). In addition to going crazy with crochet fever on the internet, I've gone a little nuts with the books. For weeks I've been casually looking at various crochet books on Amazon and then recently Eamonn and I found ourselves at Borders bookstore. Eamonn disappeared somewhere in the cook book area and I immediately headed for the craft section and picked up tangible copies of every book I had been eyeing on Amazon. Expenses outweighed want at Borders so let's just say thanks to Amazon's amazing used book selection I have four crochet books headed my way which should keep me plenty busy making Christmas presents for the rest of my life. If only royal mail wasn't on strike so my books would get here faster.

And that's all I have for now. It's actually stopped raining so I'm going to get ready as fast as humanly possible and spend the rest of the day outside enjoying what could be the last sunny day until spring. Probably not but I'm feeling pesimisstic.

MiniBreak Me

2009-10-19T05:58:00.005+09:00

Anyone who has seen or read Bridget Jones Diary knows how huge a "mini break" is in a relationship in the UK. It's that special two to four day weekend where a couple escape the hum-drummery of daily life and romp wild in the United Kingdom. Clearly a milestone in any early relationship, the mini break suggests seriousness in a previously tentative relationship. Eamonn and I are not in the beginning of a relationship--we already live together and it's been over a year since we got together, but still, when Eamonn came home couple weeks ago and said "Do you want to go to North Berwick for the weekend in a couple weeks?" the Bridget inside me thought Mini Break?! Ohhhh yessss!!!! Images of nature and poetic recitations of Keats ensued.

In the end it was a very lovely, relaxing weekend of sleeping in, watching Robin Hood (the one with foxes) and meeting a cute little baby with very soft brown hair (a nice change from Eamonn's new born niece and nephews--all bald). The only draw back was being attacked by allergies and spending all Sunday, a day dedicated to hiking, sneezing my brains out.

Luckily there was no pressure to have the perfect weekend, a-la Bridget Jones. Because I don't think a mountain waist-high of used tissues really inspires words of adoration.

Same Face, New Place

2009-09-16T19:43:00.002+09:00

Hello! I'm trying to think of a more profound greeting after four months if inactivity. It's too late now though, the hello is already out there.

So. Here's the skinny:

I left Japan in a whirlwind of last-minute sightseeing and crying with friends I'd miss dearly. I then spent a fantastic month in San Diego eating my way back up to the original weight I was before I left for Japan in the first place. I felt like the Very Hungry Caterpillar except there was a lot less fruit and a whole lot more pizza and Mexican food on my plate.

Aside from eating my brains out, I also went to my friend's absolutely gorgeous wedding (also with lots of great food), Disneyland, the San Diego Zoo, and the beach as often as I could. Other than sightseeing and eating, I did a lot of sifting through boxes of clothes and craft supplies in the garage, purging my way through yarn, markers, and ridiculous 80's dresses.

After getting my fill of San Diego (and showing Eamonn all the best parts) I pulled out the two suitcases I've grown so close to over the past year and a half and proceeded to stuff the shit out of them and curse the scales as they continuously failed the 50lb test.

Then I was in Scotland. I had a couple of weeks on my own with just Eamonn where our time was stretched between sleeping in and being jobless to meeting lots of his family members and newborn nephews/nieces. Between the family time and the sleeping in we somehow collectively signed our souls and patience over to the devil and entered the world of Ikea. One dresser, giant wardrobe, and self-varnished dining table/chair set later, Eamonn and I were still a happy couple with an equally happy-looking, visitor-ready apartment. Then my family came.

Mom and sister in tow, the four of us embarked on an amazing whirlwind tour of Scotland, seeing countless castles, abbeys, countryside, and (my favorite) highland cows. We even saw some famous sights including Doune Castle from Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Rosslyn Chapel from the Davinci Code. The castles are my favorite though, I just can't believe after 800 years or more there is still so much castle left standing. Eventually I'll post pictures. Despite being from Scotland, even Eamonn had a spiffing time, and he learned the sad truth about my family and cars: they put us to sleep faster than Ambien.

Now I think this brings me up to present day. It's fall, Eamonn's started his traineeship with a law firm, and I spend my days trying not to waste money while I wait for paperwork to get sorted for work. This gives me lots of time to explore the city on my own, which I love to do, and to watch insane amounts of British TV (which is highly amusing and surprisingly low-budget), and crochet my brains out.

I've finally learned how to read crochet patterns and have put this new skill to use just in time for winter. So far I've made 4 hats and one baby hat, and I'm working on a second baby hat. In my efforts to look for new patters on the internet I've come across quite a lot of nerdy crochet blogs updated with crochet projects that you couldn't pay me to wear, so I'll try to keep my "Hey look what I made!" posts to a minimal (although I am pretty proud of this hat I made and may have to post a picture at some point).

I feel like I have a lot more to say about Scotland and being here in general but I think I'll save it for another day. For now all I have to say is it's definitely a step up from Japan in the sense that I am much more aware of what's going on around me, but similar in the sense that I really have to strain to pay attention to what people are saying. They don't call this accent/language "Glaswegian" for nothing, having a conversation is really challenging at the best of times. Especially when places, stores, etc are spelled one way, but pronounced in a completely unexpected way.

And That is Alllll

2009-06-30T15:30:00.001+09:00

Dekita! I have officially emailed all of my pics, appropriately ending with my bloody tattoo! Those were taken in the tat place right after it was finished.

I am currently in line waiting to check my bags at the airport. It's really hot in here and I think there is a cranky toddler on my flight. Oh-no face emoticon.

2009-06-30T15:23:00.001+09:00

So many sleeping Japanese people, so little time.

2009-06-30T15:17:00.001+09:00

Fukushima best bread-turned cartoon characters!

Good Times

2009-06-30T14:43:00.001+09:00

Guess which picture is me trying to look sexy while documenting my awesomely curly (and very dirty) hair!

And guess which one is of my hungover friend Lauren sleeping on a train in the countryside (Fukushima) to be precise.

Yay

2009-06-30T14:34:00.001+09:00

The sad face picture of me is from a day I went to a kindergarden in the countryside and I had to get up at 4 in the morning to get there on time. I was SLEEPY.

2009-06-30T14:28:00.001+09:00

Pic pic pic

2009-06-30T14:23:00.001+09:00

I'm out of things to say while uploading pictures!

upload upload upload

2009-06-30T14:06:00.001+09:00

I just had a very teary farewell with my friends Kate and Lauren and now I'm on the train to the airport. Sad face emoticon.

More!

2009-06-30T13:08:00.001+09:00

Did I mention I'm doing this at starbucks?!

Cell Pics Continued

2009-06-30T13:03:00.001+09:00

This is time consuming!

See You Tomorrow!

2009-06-30T09:54:00.002+09:00

This is crazy. Last night when I talked to my mom on Skype I said "Ok, see you tomorrow!"

Weird!

I fly out today at 5:30pm but I'm actually packing now and leaving my friend's apartment (where I've been staying for the past while) at 1:00pm. I'm meeting some friends for one last, probably very depressing hang out, and then I'm off on the Ueno Skyliner to Narita airport. It's been an absolutely awesome few days, and I've been trying like mad to email myself the last of my pics on my cell phone but there are SO MANY! I'll have time before the flight I hope.

I really can't think of anything to say except I am very ready to leave Japan but not ready to leave all of my wonderful friends. The bonds I've made here are truly wonderful and I am 100% certain that the close friends I've made will be around long after I'm out of Japan.

In less sentimental news, my tattoo is scabby and itchy and I want to scratch it with ice cubes but I can't. I have some pretty insane pics of the tattoo after I first got it (on my cell) so those will end up here shortly. I'll also put a normal pic of it perhaps after ths scabs fall off. Ew!

I'm not really sure what to do with this blog after I leave Japan. I suppose a week after I'm gone posts will still be mildly relevant. I was writing a bit on here before I even left the US, so it only makes sense to let the post-Japan culture shock be part of the experience.

I know there are a lot of websites that offer people the ability to turn blogs into books, I think I might do it just so I can have a tangible memory. I hope that's not too egotistical.

I suppose the only other thing I've got to say regarding me leaving Japan is that my (oral) grammar is completely messed up. I keep saying sentences in Japanese-English without realizing it, and while my friends understand and we all do it all the time, sometimes I don't notice until a few beats after the horrible sentence has escaped.

Yikes! Allright. It's 10 am now and I have to get cracking!

More unexplained pics from my Japanese cell phone to follow!!!

My Friend Hide

2009-06-29T23:21:00.001+09:00

First he said "This look like old lady nipple." Then after the picture he said "I look like slut."

Two Girls One Cup

2009-06-29T18:15:00.001+09:00

Why is this on my phone?

creepy!

2009-06-29T18:13:00.001+09:00

I don't know where this came from but it was in my phone!

Actually From Today!

2009-06-28T23:35:00.001+09:00

While heading out for a late lunch my friends and I came across a very awesome car-and virtual driving game. I am in love with the car though. It looks like an anime wet willie.

photo mania part 4?

2009-06-27T11:59:00.001+09:00

yay! it's eamonn wearing ridiculous sunglasses!

pic pic pic

2009-06-27T11:53:00.001+09:00

...dot dot dot...

more cell pics

2009-06-27T11:49:00.001+09:00

blah blah blah

to be edited. bear with me!

2009-06-27T11:44:00.001+09:00

this is tedius. spelling?

My Life in Japan Chronicled through Cell Phone Pictures

2009-06-25T20:03:00.001+09:00

I'm uploading these by emailing them to the blog from my cell so bear with me!

Squeezing it all in, Literally and Metaphorically

2009-06-25T17:32:00.004+09:00

Well Ladies and Gentleman it's crunch time.

I move out of my apartment tomorrow so I've been running around like a mad woman packing, selling, tossing, and giving away all of my stuff. I've also been sneaking out at 2am for the past three nights, discreetly abandoning bags of garbage in areas that aren't designated garbage collecting areas for my building. I have to go to these areas because I am basically throwing away a mix of burnable and unburnable garbage on days that are not exactly burnable or unburnable collection days. I've also been very careful to take out anything with my name or address on it so no garbage can get back to me. It's all very tricky, non-eco friendly, and ridiculous.

In other moving news, I officially have no furniture/appliances aside from my bed and computer. I've sold my toaster, microwave, washer, fridge, and pretty much everything in my kitchen except for a cutting board and a measuring cup. I tried selling my bed and old ipod on craigslist but all I got were a bunch of emails from total weirdos with asinine questions and the inability to commit to buying anything. I also have received at least 3 ipod offers from dudes in Nigeria with very confusing names like "Justin Miller" and "David Smith." Puh-lease. I wasn't born yesterday. I'm pretty sure all of these Justins and Davids are with their Nigerian models, princesses, or whatever they are, sitting comfortabley on a pile of ipods and money stolen from stupid people.

To get even more things done, tonight my friend is coming over to collect the last of my things to give away, then tomorrow an adorable Japanese man with an equally adorable tiny truck is coming to pick up my bed and deliver it to the same friend (now I'm just giving the damn bed away, drr). After that ordeal I guess I'll have to quickly sweep my apartment and then another friend is going to help me cart my two suitcases, large messenger bag, and rolly computer cart to my other friend's apartment, where I will be staying until I fly out on Tuesday. All of this will be done in the worst Tokyo weather ever. Humid, muggy, miserable, and always threatening rain. Awesome.

It probably doesn't help that to add discomfort to the weather and all the heavy lifting, I got a tattoo. That's right! I've been wanting one pretty much since I was a tot and met my cousin who is covered in them. For the past year I've had the same image in my mind for a tattoo, and it incorporates a hobby that I am obsessed with, a culture I have grown to appreciate, and a country I have lived in for the past year and few months. That seemed more justifiable than a tramp stamp of a fairy or some stupid crap like that. So, without further ado, ladies and gentleman, say hello to my new ink:
Woooo! The quality of the picture isn't that great, but it's pretty darn-tootin awesome and hurt like a mother. Actually, the initial pain wasn't so bad but when he filled in the thick lines around the edge I wanted to die. Luckily my friends were there having a very hilarious, distracting conversation. What made the experience even better is the guy who did the tattoo: he is amazing--half Japanese, half Brazilian, and 100% cholo gangster. He was so meticulous, he had a ruler out to make sure the lines were perfect.

You can't tell but I'm also wearing the coolest shirt in this picture, it's a bunch of pandas with different titles: "Relax Panda, Soccer Panda, Sitting Panda, Friendly Panda, Kung Fu Panda, and my favorite, Toilet Panda." On the back there's also a "Sexy Panda." And yes, he is lying in a sexy pose.

In totally unrelated news, it's been a pretty strange feeling being in my apartment as it becomes less and less like my home and more and more like an empty white void. You can actually see how ugly and boring it is behind me in the tattoo picture. I'm living out of my suitcase and toiletree bag at this point, and I have a strong sense of dejavous from when I first came to Japan. Except this time I have way cooler clothes in my suitcase. I wish I could go back in time and smack my hand every time I packed something stupid to bring to Japan. Man did I pack some stupid clothes.

I really can't think of anything else to write about except that I've been going out every night with my friends and my big going away party is this Saturday night in a very cool nautical-themed bar in Ginza (the fancy part of Tokyo). I actually went to the same bar the second time I met Eamonn. True story. About 30 or so people will be there this Saturday to celebrate and say goodbye, and then I have two days to chill with my closest friends and probably cry a lot because I will miss them.

And now I believe it's time to sort through some dirty laundry and go admire my tattoo some more.

The Final Countdown!!

2009-06-22T11:30:00.002+09:00

I am officially unemployed!

Saturday was my last day of work, and it was a truly lovely shift. I was at my favorite school, with my favorite little kids, and I got lots of presents and pictures taken. It was all very heart-wrenching. Outside of my actual kids classes, I didn't realize how many kids I interact with. They're always running around in the lobby and at the start of the new school year to help reduce the noise I started corralling them in and engaging them in games/projects. Mostly I did it because at the start of the new school year my Saturday co-workers changed and I honestly couldn't stand the new teachers so I spent most of my time with the kids. None the less on my last day those kids were so lovely and the parents were thanking me for playing with them. One family in particular were very sweet and their two daughters were absolutely adorable.

To commemorate the last day of work I went to a house party where a friend had purchased some weird berries that change the way food tastes. So after getting pleasantly hammered and making everyone jealous that I no longer have to teach another Free Time Lesson for the rest of my life, I ate all kinds of strange sour food and reveled in the fact that with the berry, the sour food tasted shockingly sweet. Limes were the best. Then the party went from drunken fun to a shit show, ending in half of the people staggering outside to a karaoke bar. We spent the rest of the night drinking very watered down gin and tonics and belting out tunes until 5am.

Needless to say, I lost my voice.

After wandering around Ginza with some friends in a pleasant (but pretty hung-over stupor) on Sunday, seven of us (six girls and one guy) went to an izakaya-style restaurant and had what I can confidently say is the most BIZARRE dining experience of my life. Words cannot describe what ensued, so I won't even try. I'll just say that our 2-in-one server/cook was very committed to his gimmick the entire time even though we all thought we would die of embarassment, and even after we had left the restaurant (with strange echoes of him saying to be nice to Pikachu and watch out for ninjas) and were walking down the street wondering what inspired this man to open his own very bizarrre little one-man-show eatery, he came at us from around the corner wearing a Pikachu mask and brandishing a samurai sword. He proceeded to attack all of us and then runn off in the opposite direction. We were all so stuffed, hung over, and surprised to do anything but stand there with our mouths gaping while Japanese people going about their business tried to ignore what just happened. I think I might have screamed in shock.

Intense weekend over, now I have a week to get my shit together, sell stuff, throw away things, give away the rest, pack, and move out.

I'm also doing fun last-minute things like going back to Disney Sea, getting a very very awesome tattoo that I've wanted for a long time, and spending as much time as humanly possible with my friends.

I can't believe this epic time in Japan is actually coming to a close, but I have a feeling that I'll be leaving with a bang.

Yowza!

2009-06-19T13:21:00.001+09:00

A woman in her 50's or 60's just walked past me on a train platform. Standing completely straight, she didnt even clear my boobs.

Weird

2009-06-16T09:04:00.002+09:00

Yesterday a friend came over and we marathon-packed 5 boxes of things to ship to Scotland. I was mentally freaking out about how much it was going to cost to ship, but in the end it was a mere $300. We also made a new friend, whose name I can't pronounce or remember. She is my 5-year-old downstairs neighbor from India, who heard our music and ruckus and invited herself in where she promptly touched everything, told us bad people go to Disney Sea (but not Tokyo Disney Land), and that she spoke ten languages. She also asked if my friend was my husband (my friend is a girl), and she wondered where I sleep (my bed was folded into couch-form). Hilarious.

Now I am sitting in my very empty apartment. There is still more to sell/ship, but there is also A LOT missing. I packed almost all of my clothes, mostly things I love but haven't worn in a while, or things that are for colder seasons. My closet is 50% emptier, and every time I look at it I freak out, thinking "Oh god! I don't have any clothes!" when the reality is I wear variations of the same few things over and over so I don't really need all that extra clothes.

Last night I was talking to another teacher who is also leaving Japan, and I was singing Japan Post's praises, bragging about how awesomely cheap shipping my things were. Then she said something about things often getting lost on the way when people use Japan Post (so she heard). At first I defended my affordable mode of posting, saying that those were rare circumstances, when my thoughts did a 180 and I found myself saying that nothing is guaranteed, stuff is stuff, and if it arrives, great. If it doesn't, life goes on. Her only response was "that's very Buddhist of you," to which I replied "I'd still flip my shit if my box set of Sex and the City doesn't make it."

Doop be boob

2009-06-11T14:21:00.005+09:00

Based on last night alone, I am definitely going to miss going to karaoke.

Especially going with Hide, so I can force him to sing this song and do the dance with me:

Sigh!

Other required Karaoke songs:
Journey--Don't Stop Believing
T.Rex--20th Century Boy (that's just me though)
Rolling Stones
Billy Joel--Piano Man
Michael Jackson (yep)
The Clash
Johnny Cash
Weezer
Radiohead
Pearl Jam
Nirvanna
Some dorky musical/Disney song
Queen--Bohemian Rhapsody

There's more staples, I can't remember the rest but no joke, every time my friends and I go a-singin', these songs always find their way on the request list.

No need to read a book. I've found better train entertainment.

2009-06-10T22:36:00.002+09:00

I am standing on a mildly packed train watching a drunk salaryman sleep while holding onto two train support handles. He's swinging ominously over a young woman sitting in front of him and the woman is totally unphased. Apparently the threat of a drunk salaryman falling on top of her hasn't crossed her mind-or she just doesn't care. Either way I'm entertained.

Mystery Solved

2009-06-10T10:40:00.002+09:00

If anyone was wondering what ever happened to Aflac, that insurance company with the annoying duck that quacks "AFLAC," it moved to Japan and flourished like it never did in the states.

Other things that have moved to Japan and enjoyed massive success:

Lizzie Mcguire (as a singing sensation, not actress). She's the Disney mascot and can be seen advertising the Disney phone for Softbank. Although recently Softbank has pushed the Disney phone aside to make room for their iPhone campaign.
Avril Lavigne. Excuse my french but I hate that bitch. Trucks drive all over Tokyo's hotspots blasting her music. Tons of idiotic students of inappropriate ages sing her praises. It's like the twilight zone.
Care Bears (not the cartoon, just the merchandise). No one's heard of the cartoon but tons of girly stores sell all kinds of Care Bear kitsch.
Snoopy. No one really cares too much for the rest of the Peanuts gang, and I'm pretty sure no one has ever even seen an episode or read a comic, but if you go to a certain store in a very popular part of Tokyo, there is a whole floor dedicated to Snoopy stuff, and the store even had a temporary Snoopy Creperie.
Weed memorabilia. Smoking pot is so illegal, if one is caught in posession--or even in the same vicinity as someone in posession, one is royally fucked by the law. Oh and entrapment is completely legal in Japan. That said, I have never seen so much weed schwag since going to Venice Beach. I'm talking bags, t-shirts, key chains, hats, belt buckles, etc etc etc. I asked a student about it once and he said it's a Canadian leaf. HAHA!
The OC. Yep. Box sets are available for rent and for sale in mass quantities, and I've met a shocking amount of students who really adore this show, and ask me all kinds of ludicrous questions about San Diego once they find out I'm from there. Lately I've started embellishing in my answers to questions about what daily life is like in Orange County. It's more entertaining to see their surprised faces when they realize life really is just like The OC.
Barbie. Not just a toy doll but a clothing line! That pink cursive brand name can be seen plastered on the wall of one of the most nauseating stores I've ever seen. I'm actually afraid to go inside--everything looks pink and fluffy and it scares me. But there you have it. A Life-size barbie store for the girly girl in your life.

Lessons from Lessons

2009-06-08T22:09:00.002+09:00

Today while teaching I actually learned lots of interesting things, which I will now share with you.

Interesting fact about Japan #1:
The color yellow is associated with money, and in an attempt to better one's financial success, one can buy a yellow wallet.

I asked my student if he knew anyone who had a yellow wallet, and he said, "Yes, my aunt does." I asked him if she was wealthy, to which he laughed and said "no."

Interesting Fact #2:
Even though Sailor Moon has been around for ages and like most fads should have disappeared when the next big thing came along, it has held on strong in Japan (like a feeble Hello Kitty), and is currently known under a different name (I didn't quite catch the name from the student). This amazes me. I love love love Sailor Moon, and did as a kid, and now I am feeling a bit desperate. I don't have much time left in Japan and I haven't even tried to look for any Sailor Moon movies or manga. Gotta add that to my to do list!

Speaking of programs/cartoons that originated in Japan, spread to America, became huge successes, and subsequently faded into obscurity, did you know that the following shows/cartoons are still incredibly popular in Japan:
Hello Kitty (that was a no-brainer)
Power Rangers (originally from Japan--and still insanely popular)
Pokemon (damn kids still freak out for that yellow squirrel thing)
Dragon ball Z (I've spent many hours with kids while they show me their various trading cards)
And more that I can't even remember.

Basically everything that makes it's way to the states and then disappears is still HUGELY popular in Japan. Nothing ever dies!

Interesting Fact #3:
My final fun fact of the day thanks to the same student who imparted the yellow wallet information:

While in the states it is unlucky to see a black cat, in Japan it is quite the opposite.

And that is all!

Yarg

2009-06-05T22:36:00.002+09:00

I am a bad blogger. Time has gotten the better of me yet again and here I am in my last month in Japan.

So here's the haps:

I've finally booked my flights to San Diego and to Scotland from San Diego (whew, done and done!)
I've quit both my jobs and go through days where I think "Man I'm glad I quit this shit," and other days where I think "Wow I'm going to miss some of these students."
I've been going out a lot in my free time to get the most out of my friends and Tokyo/surrounding areas. It's fun but sad.
I've discovered a bunch of new amazing coffee shops that I am sad I won't get to go to anymore.
I over-transferred money home when I got paid last month so for the past few weeks I've been living like a pauper in an effort to not take the money back.
I saw Star Trek and it was amazing. As usual, only the foreigners laughed at the appropriate times. I wonder if the Japanese people in the audience found that annoying, confusing, or just part of the pains of seeing a foreign movie in a city with a lot of foreigners. Hmmm.
I have found the best way to ship my stuff out of here, but have yet to ship anything (waiting for pay day).
I can't wait to eat pizza, burritos, chilaquiles, and everything else I've been missing for the past year.
I dream about things I'm going to buy at Target and Sephora.

And lastly, no matter how much I walk around Tokyo and think of all the fun and wonderful things about this place, I'm really really really excited to move on and join the real world, instead of living in this strange bubble that is my life in Japan.

Strange Dinner

2009-05-21T22:53:00.003+09:00

Two posts in one day! What are the odds?

After my friends and I got back to Tokyo after a long ride on a Thomas the Tank Engine bus, most of the group left to go home and sleep, and Matt and I decided we wanted Cold Stone Ice Cream (they are sprinkled throughout Tokyo, lucky us!). Nana was going to meet our friend Hide (pronounced "He-day") for dinner, but Matt and I declined due to our desire to just have ice cream and go home. In the end, however, Matt and I joined Nana and Hide for dinner--us with our waffle bowls of ice cream, and Nana and Hide with giant bowls of ramen. It was a rough dinner since Nana, Matt, and I were so exhausted, but it was even more strange due to the fact that for whatever reason, Hide wasn't in the mood to have a 100% English chat and kept saying stuff to Nana in Japanese. Most of us are used to bits of conversations being in Japanese, but Hide was pretty chatty with Nana, leaving Matt and I to wonder what they were talking about. We just sat there eating our ice cream and shrugging our shoulders like "well, sometimes you just don't want to struggle with English."

All in all the dinner was lovely and we spent quite a long time talking shit about other "friends" that we really don't care for (for those of you who don't know me too well, I enjoy some good shit-talking), but in the back of my mind I kept mulling over what was up with Hide and if he was just tired and didn't want to talk in English, or if something else was bothering him.

I'm pretty sure he was just tired, because the minute we started talking about painting his face like a Kiss band member, Hide was more excited than a kid going to Disneyland. I'm really not sure why he wanted to do this other than I suppose it would make for a fun Facebook profile picture.

So there it is, an amazing day at Fuji Q, fantastic ice cream, and a semi-strange dinner.

All in all, a great day off!

Fuji My Heart

2009-05-21T17:30:00.002+09:00

Here's a pic of my friends Nana, Lauren, Matt and Chris (Matt's the cameraman) at Japan's most awesome roller coaster park--Fuji Q Highland. Almost every coaster in this place has made a world record for being the fastest, the highest, etc. The park also has some legendary "Engrish" (as seen in the attached bathroom sign--sorry I can't turn the photo the right way at this moment!) and an amazing, scary as hell haunted hospital. Oh and the other pic is my new haircut. I don't think I'll ever be able to blow dry my hair like that again!

Sigh

2009-05-18T23:44:00.001+09:00

Oh man. I am so stressed. Making checklists didn't really help. Constantly talking to friends and coworkers about all the things I have to do before leaving doesn't help either.

Best to go read and not think about it. Eh?

Money Talks. And takes English lessons.

2009-05-11T21:58:00.001+09:00

Today I worked as a substitute teacher at the most expensive branch of all the company's schools in the kanto area. It happens to be located in the Beverly Hills of Tokyo and celebrities such as a band member from SMAP come to this school as well as the wife of the company president (when a teacher asked the wife what she was doing for Golden Week she said she was going to Tahiti with her girlfriends). Just to further set the scene, this place is so posh that each lesson is always a private lesson and the school offers free coffee and tea to all students. Each classroom has a laptop and part of the routine isn't just teaching but also escorting the student to the classroom and to the elevator at the end of the lesson. Working here stresses me out because I know these students are dishing out buckets of money. Taking all this into consideration, imagine how stressful it was to see a sign in the staff room that said "Please don't ask Mr. Yoshikawa any personal question
s!!"

Reading something like that made me wonder what happened to prompt the staff to make that sign. Is Mr. Yoshikawa a Yakuza guy who likes to keep his life private? Is he strictly a man of business with no interest in talking about personal matters? Is he embarrassed because he has no personality? And what was the personal question that put him over the edge...That made him complain and resulted in a sign posted warning all teachers to watch out?

I'm glad I didn't have to find out for myself. Even so I was hyper aware of every personal question I asked today.

Sigh

2009-05-08T12:15:00.003+09:00

Well, I went camping in Niijima for Golden Week and it was by far the most fun I've had in a long time! I had so much fun, I only took two pictures. The weather was amazing, the sun was great, the water was gorgeous and light blue. I even got a tan.

All in all it was a great vacation (and cheap!), and just to make it feel even more like a dream, I had to get back to business today and quit.

Just this morning I had to call headquarters to unofficially quit and talk about technical things regarding quitting. Then I had to write two separate letters of resignation for the two different companies I work for, and finally I had to call my friend (and favorite school director) to tell her that I had just quit, and talk about how sad it was.

I feel so weird. Like I just broke up with someone after a serious relationship, but they knew it was going to happen anyway. So I suppose it's just going through the motions, but still. Feels weird.

I made a handy dandy checklist of the million things I have to do before I leave Japan, so I suppose I can mark off "Quit."

Well, here's to my first day back at work after Golden Week, and my first day at work knowing that I have officially quit.

Hmmmm

2009-05-04T21:39:00.001+09:00

I wonder what kind of people can be found here...

J-Greasers

2009-04-27T01:36:00.003+09:00

This is cliche to those who have stayed in Japan for longer than a week, but one of my favorite places to hang out is Yoyogi Park. It's right between Shibuya and Harajuku, two very popular, trendy areas in Tokyo. The park is huge and full of life. There's a dog park (split in two for small dogs and big dogs), a huge pond separated by a small bridge and decked out with an island and some weird fountains, a few tacky small fountains near the entrance, tons of cherry blossom trees, and secluded areas for homelss people to live and do homeless things.

On any normal day the park is speckled with people exercising, taking a break from work, walking their tiny dogs, etc. During a certain week in spring the park is overflowing with people enjoying the cherry blossoms and getting wasted (best week ever). Every Sunday, however, the park becomes a freak show. The amount of people at the park is mind blowing, and the number of disctractions is insane. My favorite disctration is this anomaly

I could have taken my own video of these dudes, they are literally there every Sunday like clockwork. But instead of making you watch some ghetto footage from my digital camera, you can look at some much more interesting stuff.

Neko Ja La La

2009-04-26T02:03:00.001+09:00

A while ago my friends Alex, Kate, and I went to a cat cafe in my neighborhood. I think I mentioned it before. I just wanted to say, while the cat cafe was weird and cool, THIS CAT is AMAZING