Typhoon #21

Yes, you read right. Another typhoon is here. I didn't think it was actually going to get us, and Louise told me that it was scheduled for Friday. It is actually here today, while I'm at Ube High. Every other school in possibly the whole of Asa-gun has closed. We are still here. The wind and rain is battering the poor old school, and we stay. Earlier the PA system bing-bonged, and all the students (and teachers for that matter), got excited thinking the principal would say 'go home'. But no, he just told us that parts of the walls and roof in the judo/kendo hall were blowing off, so be careful!! Outrageous!

So worse case scenario is that the Ube line will stop and we will just have to hang out at school until we can get home. Definitely not what I'm hoping for. I would leave now and flag English club, there's no way I'm going out in that weather!

Before I sign off. English Speech contest update. It was ok, disappointingly there were no Freddie the Falling Leaf's. But 5 Mrs Evans on the Titanic! And about 3-4 of The Spider's Thread. I really don't like that one, it's long and boring. One of the students I coached the day before got 2nd...But really, it wasn't just me who thought she deserved it...honestly! Then to top it off, last year we got ￥10,000...this year I only got travel expenses! Damn, especially since I was only on the train for 5 minutes. But in saying that I did have a really yummy bento, so I shouldn't be so ungrateful and complain!

Right must go. Turrah for now!

Sexy Bouncer is BACK!!

Need I say more! As I don't want my blog to be the same as Jo's Fukuoka account, I will write about other stuff! So yeah, it was a good night...started off with a drink in Big Cock, and who should be playing...Blue! You girls will be proud of the enthusiasm with which Jo and I sang that song! There was another one...but I forget..!

Yeah, and then later when we were leaving the little Cock, who should I walk by, and then do a double take...but sexy Bouncer! It has to be said that it was the highlight of the night! Turns out Kenjo has been off with a judo injury!

I had my poorest drinking night in all Fukuoka history...I'm sure I only had about 6 drinks! Shock, horror! But honestly, Wednesday night f##ked me! I had one drink on Friday night, and I'm sure I felt slightly hungover on Saturday. Then Saturday night I had to stop cos I had nauseous feelings coming over me! I will be back in form for next time I'm sure... But this weekend coming is going to be very lazy me thinks...

So on other news that I was meant to write about ages ago, Jo, Gerard and I are booked to for Vietnam for 2 weeks at Christmas! Fun ne! I think the 3 people (or am I being generous) who read this may already know, but oh well! Abra you needn't be concerned about us...we will sort out where we are going and what we'll do sometime soon!!

Tomorrow I am judging the Asa-gun speech contest. Today I am coaching some of the students who are entering... Is that wrong! It would be in my country I'm sure! It'll be all good though. I will be the oh-so respected native-English speaking judge, get a little money, and a yummy obento, all for simply sitting and judging who does the best recitation of such wonders as 'Freddie the Falling Leaf', 'The Emerald Lizard', 'Mothers' Lullaby' and not to forget 'Mrs Evans on the Titanic'! Yay!

It's been a while...

I haven't blogged for ages...so unlike me! But now I have a few minutes in my busy day to update y'all!

Last weekend, the 3 dayer, was quiet, as planned. Friday night I can't remember what I did, Saturday Tomoko came over and we went to the bike shop to get my bike fixed (yay, it doesn't wobble now, and the gears are fixed!), and then we went to Shimonoseki and I got a new keitai! Twas sad, but as soon as the weather became the slightest bit un-summery, my keitai stopped making sounds and I had to do the "Sorry, I can't hear you, I"ll call you back on my home phone!" line! But thankfully with the help of Tomoko the keitai went from being 7500 yen, to 3000 yen! Yay, you just need to be Japanese and be able to ask how it can be cheaper, and then the yen just drop off! So my new keitai is very exciting... the same as my old one, except newer, so the features are different, and BETTER!! It is silver. It has that infra-red info sending thing, so you can zap your photos and phonebook stuff to other keitais, and it has a remote control for TVs and Videos! Ok, well I can't get it to work on my TV, but it's still cool that it's there! After that excitement, we met the Shimonoseki girls for a drink. Monday, I went to a teacher's and had a lovely day with her, her husband and their 2 1/2 year old girl. Oh so cute, definitely akachan-omiyage material, and she already knows some English! Bonus!

Today, I am at Omine High, and god I am so glad tomorrow's the weekend! On Wednesday after Ube High, I went to Tokuyama for Jimmy's birthday. Since I was late finishing and other reasons unknown to even me, I barely had anything to eat. Then I ended up drinking lots, first at the Irish bar, and then 5 hours at karaoke... There wasn't even drunken shenanigans, just civilised sitting/standing around drinking/yarning/drinking/singing/drinking....! So I finished the night feeling like shit! Then in the morning the plan was for me to meet Louise in Ube to go shopping, meaning I would leave Tokuyama at 10am. You know the effect Tokuyama has on me! I was one sick Selene! Gerard got up at 9am-ish, planning to leave, and Rei then realised she'd lost her bag, so that delayed them. I was just simply delayed...so very very sick. Worse Meag than after St Pat's party! I think it was the worst hangover since Bangkok! I was so sick...at Jimmy's, on the bus, on the train, at You-me Town... Not a happy day team! And side note to Meagan, kept missing the bag still! Through out the whole experience though, I was so discreet, no one even knew... I think! Oh and Louise, bless the girl, before I even texted to ask, had packed a selection of hangover drugs for me!

So yeah, fun times, and I have to say my big night has slightly dampened my plans for the weekend. Of course, I will be drinking tomorrow night, I mean it's Fukuoka, and it'd be rude not too! But Selene won't be drinking tonight, as planned, and I will be taking it easier than usual in Fukuoka! Famous last words, I will let you know how I go...!

More stuff...

Well, it seems the ol' laptop is dead. Possibly not going to get fixed, well at least not in Japan. Gutted, yes, but also resigned, and accepting that there ain't much one can do! I think I will be forking out for a new computer, even though I haven' t yet paid Mum back for this one! Damn it! So here I am faithfully updating the blog at Ube High. Good entry today Jo, nice updating of the blog!

So this week I had my first Dentist experience! I hate the dentist, no matter what country I'm in (much like Meag fears the hairdresser maybe!?). So, of course I went twice at home so I wouldn't have to go through the trauma, but little did I know that a filling would fall out when I least expected it! So I went across the road to Marukyu and into the Cosmo Clinic there... Very nice it was, and I'm not sure what my worry was! Though it wasn't major surgery I was still concerned what they might do to me! It crossed my mind that the filling fell out cos my tooth was rotting, but since it was the very back top tooth, I thought that if they get all Japanese on me and pull it out, well no one would know cos you can't see it! But I was in and out within 30 minutes, and they even tried to show me on a wee camera thing (until the battery went flat after a few minutes), which they put in my mouth there concerns about another tooth that might begin to get sore...at which point I should go back! So now no fear...until I actually need that major dental surgery...

This weekend is a three dayer... Friday night I'm going to go drink with Tomoko and her bro I think. Monday I'm going to a teachers...the old 'use the AET to come speak English to my small children trick'. I haven't filled in the gaps yet...maybe I will do nothing, as must save money!

Also trying to sort out Christmas holiday...It's a mission. Thus far, Jo, Gerard and I are going to Vietnam. Cambodia was on the plan but it's getting more and more unlikely... It's proving to be more expensive than I thought it might be, but I think we might be getting somewhere...me hopes! Looks like it is cheaper to fly to Bangkok then onto Ho Chi Minh City, so there might be a couple more 'one night in Bangkok's! I'm sure we'll work things out eventually...!

Ok, might go read, or email, or do other stuff! Hope you girls at your respective countries are doing good. Gambare with the job hunting/exam studying and taking/friend making (if it's necessary!?)! Ja ne!

School and stuff...

I have 30 minutes until my next and final class of the day at Omine High. It's been rather boring, but I'm getting there... I shouldn't complain, seeing as I now come here every week instead of every second week.

So just for the sake of saying, it's raining today, but typhoons are not here nor on their way! Can you believe though that there are still some houses in the ken without power!!!? I mean it has been nearly four days since power got cut in some places, and it just seems so strange and archaic that power can be cut off for so long... But then again, this is Japan, and I did once thing it was some kind of technological superworld, until I moved to the Guch...!

Hiroshima last weekend. It was fun. I barely got pissed, yet still managed to be genki all night, and not even feel like the hours were dragging as we waited for the first shinkansen. There was a nice mix of newbies and oldies, so yeah it was all good. I did miss you Meag, Mary and Abra, especially when I saw lots of the ol' regulars... At Mac bar I saw the 'Saddam Hussein' lookalike guy, he's had a hair cut and wasn't wearing that bucket type hat! At El Barcos, 'Mr Lovin' Himself while he dances in the mirror' guy was there...still dancing sexily to himself, but he had a girl with him...!? Weird! The highlight would be seeing the guy that Meag scored..twice maybe! The one that ended up being in Fukuoka another weekend! I saw him, and thought oh I think that's the guy, and then figgered (!!? spelling for you Meag!) that it was when he kept looking over at us! Then he and his mate approached. I was like Hi, we've met before eh? and he said yeah (Maybe?) and then the punchline, he asked about 'Megu'!! When I said that she has gone home to America, he goes (and I shit you not!), 'Ohhh nooo' (exerting pain and guttedness), with his hand on his heart...! This could all have been a display of love? Or it could've just been him gutted cos he missed making it a hat-trick of Meag make-outs? But all the same, Meag you could have been in there, but missed out..!!

So yeah that was amusing. And also amusing was, as mentioned by Jo, her and the marine guy Matt chatting at the ramen shop! My God it was funny! Even to the extent of having ramen noodles half way down my throat because I had to stop eating to laugh! The winning comment was, "You're the worst girl I've ever met!" Ah, good on you Jo!

So tonight Gerard, Louise and I are going to meet the girls in Shimonoseki for SUSHI!! Very excited is Selene for her first salmon and cheese in over a month! Then we might drink a little before coming back to Asa. Tomorrow night, Jason (new Onoda JET) is having drinks and dinner thing, so think we are going there... Other than that, shall keep thing quiet...

Ok, I'm off now. BTW, my computer has pooped itself, hopefully I can get it fixed, or I'm going to have to buy a new one... One cannot live without her computer!

Back in the Guch!

Well...it's been nearly a week since I got back. It doesn't even really feel like I left...! Which is good, but I do notice that some of you girls aren't here!

There was a little drama coming back last Sunday. Remember I was worried about the weather delaying my Chch to Auckland flight, so I would miss my Japan flight...well, I didn't miss it. But when I arrive at the airport, with sun shining, thinking everything would be fine...the guy said, the plane would be delayed 25 mins. I was okay with that, but then the time got longer, and the weather got worse...and I got freaked out! I was crying, and so worried, and everyone was just making jokes at me for being irrational!

Anyway, the plane left at 11.15am-ish, which meant I arrived in Auckland at about 12.30, and I had to start checking in at 12.15..! My friend Mark was waiting for me when I arrived, and by the time my luggage came thru, we got to international, and I waited in line for ages to check-in, it was 1.15pm...the time the person suggested I go thru custom!! Man, I was so rushed and felt really bad that Mark came to the airport to see me off, and I only saw him for about 15 mins!

So that was leaving NZ!! Then Singapore was very lovely. I was there from 9.30pm - 1 am, so I had a shower, and then slept of these nice lounger seat things! Such a good transit airport! So...I boarded my flight to Fukuoka, and the pilot told us that a typhoon (number 16) was approaching Japan!! I knew my weather worries weren't irrational! So, if the plane couldn't land, we would go to Korea! But we got down, bumpily, but safely at 8am-ish! I was kinda laughing cos all these Japanese people were screaming (a little), and then they cheered when we made it down!

Thinking my travel woes were over...I got the bus to Hakata, only to be told that there was one more shinkansen leaving - a Hikari...! You know what that means, I was going to end up in Ogori, not Asa! So I was trying to buy a ticket, but was told to go up to the gate for it...weird. But then once I got there, the shinkansen was coming (early) and I got on the esculator, not carrying my luggage cos it was heavy, and before I knew it, these railway workers were running up behind me, struggling with my luggage, and practically throwing me on the shinkansen! Honestly, they grabbed me, and ran me onto the train! Taihen deshita!!

So I was on the train, it was going slowly, I guess it my get picked up by the wind if it was going fast..? Then I got to Shin-Yamaguchi, when downstairs and asked if there was a train running...No! So thinking I was in for a long wait, I prepared to sit down and read my book. But then they said the Kodama was running back the other way! SO I had to pay more to get home, which I did by 11.30am!

So sorry Abra and Mary, you missed the typhoon that finally did hit! It was a pretty big one, not too much damage or chaos in the Guch, but in Kyushu a few people died and are missing, and buildings blown down. Oh and I saw on the news yesterday that a lighthouse got knocked down by waves!!

I've been at the office all week...same old same old! Was meant to have school yesterday at Omine High, but it was cancelled! Off to a good start! It's weird, I knew my schedule was changing, but until April, I go to hardly any of my old schools, but have two new Junior Highs (I knew about these), and about 4 new elementary schools (didn't know about these). So I don't know if I will go to my old junior highs again or not...

Ok, have to go, shower and that kinda stuff...going to Hiroshima tonight, going to pull an all-nighter...hopefully can make it!