Hustlin'

So I have a job, in theory, but the salary hasn't been worked out yet. They gave me a lower offer than I had expected, and I really do need the money, so...we need to figure that out. They want me to start on June 2nd, so I'm guessing it will work itself out somehow by then. In the meantime, I've decided that I need to try to work-if for no other reason than to get me out of the house. I don't really want to do it, but I'm putting myself back in the English conversation game.

There is a website where you can register and put up your details, and then potential students can contact you. Usually you meet at a coffee shop somewhere, talk for an hour or so, then go our separate ways. Kind of like a date, except that money changes hands at the end (well...I guess some dates are like that ;) ) If things go well, then you usually meet once a week and continue to study English. I've done it before, and it really depends on the person. If you have a energetic person who can actually speak English, it can be quite fun. Other times it can be like pulling teeth.

"So, what did you do yesterday?"

"Uhh.....yesterday?"

"Yes, what did you do yesterday?"

"uhh....I....walk......dog"

This continues for an hour.

So anyway, I registered at this site yesterday, but it turns out there are roughly 5000 freelance teachers registered on this site in the Tokyo area! Goddamnit. So I tried to make my profile as attractive as possible, in order to attract as many potential students as possible. I have to sell myself, after all. I have my snazzy profile picture up, favorite color, interests, that kinda thing. For favorite movie I put Fight Club, which I think might attract some Brad Pitt fans, but I should probably change that to something a little more accessible to everyone.

In short, it's just like signing up for an online dating service. Here's hoping I can get some good "dates" out of it.

honeymoon wrap-up

So I'm back in Japan after spending 2 weeks in the states. Still not over jet-lag, which is bad since I have a lot of writing to do (in Japanese) for an interview Friday. More on that in a later post. Honeymoon was a lot of fun, but very tiring. In particular, I got really tired of eating out for every meal. Also, I really missed eating Japanese food. Shoko and I ate udon at the airport when we got back to Tokyo and it was soooooo good.

So the first leg of our journey was to New York. On the first day Shoko was digging New York, talking about how she could see us living here in the future. Heh...by the end of the week she was saying "I don't think I need to come back to New York ever again". New York is basically like Tokyo, except much dirtier. Someday I'm going to go back to New York and take a bunch of pictures of dirt/trash/filth, and then I'll take pictures of clean Tokyo streets...and I'll have an exhibition where the photos are divided into Tokyo and New York, with titles for each. The title for the Tokyo section will be "Tokyo: Winning the War on Chaos", while the New York side will be "New York: Losing the War on Chaos". We compared Tokyo and New York throughout the week, with Tokyo winning (in our minds, anyway) most of the contests-like public transportation, cleanliness, safety, etc. Though I think New York wins when it comes to food-mainly because it is cheaper than in Tokyo. I think though that our perception of New York was skewed by the fact that we were staying in Times Square, which....sucked. Way too many tourists. I much preferred just wandering around the East Village.

Highlights from New York include going to a Yankees game (vs. the Mariners)---



We also caught the Lion King on Broadway, which was fantastic, and saw my friend's sister as she and her classmates gave their final presentations for a class at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Ah, student films...it was very cool though.

After a week in New York we flew to DC. We were "randomly selected for additional screening" at LaGuardia. It was ok because we had plenty of time and the TSA people weren't rude or anything. Still...it was annoyinig. We got to DC and went to some Smithsonians, and also to the Spy Museum, which was great. After a few days there we went to Baltimore to attend the wedding of a friend of mine from middle/high school. Here's the four of us at the wedding:



So after the wedding we went to Reagan National to fly to Chicago as there is no direct flight to Tokyo from DC. Again we were "randomly selected for additional screening". Grr...so we went to their special screening area, and there was a group of middle eastern-looking gentlemen also being screened. Big shocker...they actually let us go first, while they lectured the other people about what was going to happen.
I was not particularly proud to be an American citizen at that particular moment. So I was talking to the TSA guy, and he said that if you change your flight you will get flagged. Both times we had reservations for a later flight but ended up taking an earlier flight. So that explains that, I suppose.

So now we're back, and it's definitely good to be home. 2 weeks in a foreign country (ha) is a long time. Next up: work!

Trippin'

So Shoko and I were thinking about going on a honeymoon in early May, but we weren't sure if we could go, for two reasons. One, I was looking for a job, and if I found a job and they wanted me to start work immediately, I wouldn't be able to go. Two, Shoko wasn't sure if she could get all the days off from work or not. Well, I haven't found a job yet...things are progressing on several fronts, but nothing official yet. Also, Shoko got all the days off by saying she was going to attend her cousin's wedding. Well...we are planning on attending a wedding while we are on our honeymoon, but it's the wedding of a good friend of mine from middle/high school. He and Shoko are not related, as far as I can tell :)

So we're going on our honeymoon, but since I don't have a job, I don't really want to spend much money. Too bad we're spending a week in NYC. At least Shoko was able to get a discounted rate for the hotel through work. I definitely need to get some new shoes while I'm in New York. My loafers (that I would theoretically wear to work every day) are just about done. They've lasted me for 3 years, so that's nice. Can't say I would buy that brand of shoe again though (Gordon Rush, in case you're wondering). Maybe Bruno Magli is the way to go...

Olympic Soccer Stuff

So the drawing was held, and both the men's and women's U.S. teams have been drawn into groups with Japan. This means that I should be able to see some U.S. soccer here in Japan, which is always good. On the men's side, the group should be pretty tough, as the group is comprised of the Netherlands, Nigeria, Japan, and the U.S. I remember watching Nigeria win the gold medal in Athens in the '96 Olympics. Actually, I saw the U.S. women beat Nigeria for the gold medal as well, which was great. Here's hoping both teams do well. I'll be happy if the U.S. just gets out of its group-though I would like them to beat Japan, of course-a bit of revenge for the Gamba Osaka vs. Houston Dynamo game (which Gamba won 6-1? I think). Go USA!

So this is what it has come to...

So when I was working, most of my conversations were in Japanese. At home my wife and I usually use Japanese as well. As a result, my English skills have started slipping. And now I'm out of work, so I'm not using Japanese all that much. My Japanese skills are rapidly deteriorating, which is bad. So...right now, I can't really speak either language all that well. So I'm stupid in either language...great.

One reason I want to start writing this blog again is because I think it might just help me recover some of the language/writing skills I've lost. Though I haven't been very good at posting regularly...

This morning I went to see an archery demonstration. These guys were trying to hit targets, basically. The catch was that they were on horseback, and the horse was galloping down the track. There were three targets in a row, and due to the speed of the horses, each rider only had a few seconds to draw an arrow, notch it, aim, and shoot at the target. I had a camera with me, but it was Shoko's camera. There was too much of a lag in between when I pushed the shutter button and when the picture was actually taken. I couldn't figure out how to put it on continuous shooting mode/movie mode. Oh well. Next year I'll have to get myself a nice SLR in order to take some good shots of the action.

Soccer ramblings

Upcoming U.S. Men's soccer team friendly matches:

()=world FIFA ranking

May 28th at England (11)
June 4th at Spain (4)
June 8th vs. Argentina (1)

I admire Bob Bradley's wanting the U.S. team to play difficult opponents, but don't you think this schedule might be a bit much? I would love to see the U.S. beat England at Wembley...though if they win any of those three games I'll be a happy man.

Weddings n' such

Hey hey, guess who got married....well, we've technically been married for almost half a year now. In Japan it's common to register your marriage at the local courthouse before you actually get married. Shoko and I did that last October and planned on having a wedding in the springtime. I proposed to her on her birthday last August, and she decided that we should have the wedding ceremony on my birthday (April 5th), so that I would never forget when our anniversary was. So...that's what we did. My parents came over from the states, and some friends came up from Miyazaki (where I used to live). Everybody said they had a good time, and we had a good time, so...yeah. A good time had by all. Here's where we had the wedding, just in case you want to check it out.