May 25th and 26th Shall we Dance in Ill Fitting Shirts? in 2016

I had three classes with Ebihara Sensei on the 25th, something which almost never happens. I was also physically present for all of two of them, something even rarer. I had written thirty past tense sentences, and we used them to gauge students’ ability to figure out past tense. I spoke in English, they wrote down what I’d said, but in Japanese. They did better than I’d expected. However, for whatever reason, “I heard a bird,” is evidently the funniest thing in the history of reality.
6th period was Tateishi Sensei, which was fun enough. I didn’t do much, but I think he likes to have me there for moral support. The first years are my favorites, so I don’t mind at all. I’m really becoming a bit upset with some of the second and third years, but, there’s nothing to be done. Sometimes, we just have to endure a bit, and that’s life. I’m sick of them playing with my fat, but, there’s only one way to get them to stop. They do it to each other, too. Though an end to the crotch groping would be nice (that’s mostly in the elementary schools, though).
I talked to Simona a lot about her coming to Michigan. I’m excited, but it’s a bit frightening to have her out for the now extended period of 10 days. I want to see family, but I want to see her. It’s an odd balancing act. This is one of the great troubles of living abroad. It’s also tricky to find the balance between doing exciting things and doing things we can afford to do.
I finished work and went to 7-11 to try and find food. Nothing looked appetizing. So, I want to Family Mart. I found a sushi set and salad that looked nominally palatable. Then, in the glaring light of my kitchen, I realized that I was mistaken. I tossed both. There was just no way. Instead, I ate cereal and my last banana (and forgot to buy more for today).
In all too little time, I had to go to Eikaiwa. Somehow or other, I’d walked a LOT more at school than I’d anticipated. And I also walked to Eikaiwa, got there early, and did several laps. The president saw me walk by three times before I came in. I’d have done a fourth, but she waved at me. I still got in early. It was alright, though, ‘cause Sam got there late. Not too late, but a bit late. However, it was only the two (then three) of us for about the first twenty minutes, then, three stragglers made their way in. It was pretty pleasant, if a bit dull.
Afterwards, thank heavens I ran late, I met the chorus member who’d told me about ballroom dancing. It’s in the building next door. So, I mean, that’s convenience. 7:30 next to the Himawarikan. Well, I’d totally forgotten about it and he caught me when I was about ready to walk home. I was hanging around late, and I had some notion that I was supposed to, but, I had given up and started out when he pulled in and reminded me.
The class is, as I said, one building over. The teacher is the Urasenke tea master! That was a shock. Also, my dancing is a LOT worse than I’d realized and she was markedly unimpressed. However, I didn’t really have time to stick around. Saying I’d come by next week (and I mean it), I excused myself. Ten minutes later I realized that I’d forgotten some folders that I’d bought on my way to Eikaiwa. Had to walk back, and everybody had a good laugh. Then I went to 7-11, got a highly caloric dinner, and went home. I talked to Simona a bit, I cleaned a tiny bit, and I played guitar. Then, I read more of the rather uninformative Jefferson biography, and went to bed
I woke up around 2 AM and struggled to get back to sleep until 3. I find that it’s my knees that hurting that tends to be the biggest problem lately, and 2ish is about when the Advil wears off. Also my back is really hurting, which impedes general comfort. Well, I delayed the inevitable, then sucked it up, took Advil, and, half an hour later, I slept.
I woke up, tossed on my jimbe top (I’d slept in the bottoms) and stood around outside reading on my phone. I don’t think the going-outside-first-thing is terribly effective. Still, I’m trying it.
I have two classes today, one with Tateishi, which I just finished, and one at third period with Inori Sensei. Tateishi went well, as it tends to do. This is my first class with Inori Sensei in a LONG time. I sometimes worry she doesn’t like me anymore, if she did. She doesn’t have me grade her work anymore, and she almost never has me help in her classes. I don’t know why. I do get the feeling, but it’s hard to explain. I guess I’ll just assume it to be probably true.
My back is really hurting, and I’m hoping to go to the doctor after school. In all honesty, I’m hoping that I can cancel tea ceremony. It’s difficult enough to physically get through under normal circumstances, but, when you’ve got pretty significant back pain? It’s rough. It’s also about in that spot that hurt in 8th grade when I couldn’t move. So, it’s worrisome. My left shoulder droops a lot, and I’m sure that I’m out of alignment. I’d hoped to avoid a chiropractor until August, but that may not be an option. It hurts. Also, I just don’t feel like tea ceremony much at the moment. I want to do more things with my time. There’s a time and a place for quiet reflection, but, frankly, now is not that time. At least, that’s how I feel. If I weren’t worried about the damage in relations it’d cause, I would back off from the lessons. I think I may, at least for July. June is iffier. I really do have a reasonable excuse: Gotta lose weight. I need to spend extra time getting thinner. Well, we’ll see. If the doctor says I’m too fat and that’s why my back hurts, I think I may just cancel on the grounds of my weight. It’s a good excuse. It’ll let me start back up again later.
I don’t know what’s wrong/right with me. I am sleeping better and I have so much energy. Suddenly, all the crap that Alexander Hamilton did makes sense to me. I freaking love this.
I haven’t walked as much as I’d like to have by this point in the day, but, that’s life. I’ll get time. I’ll have 4th-6th period, and, hopefully, I’ll be out playing with the kids at recess. I’ll break 10K steps at school fairly easily. All I have to do is half portion my lunch and I’ll be clear. I need to find something healthy to eat out, though. 7-11 Caesar salads suck now, and that’s cut into my healthy snack options. Also, turns out that the gyoza packs are more caloric than I’d thought. Veggies are great for the system, but they also take a LONG time, especially to cook properly.
Today I’m wearing a green polo shirt. I hate polo shirts. I have since my days back at SCS. I don’t know why. However, I’ve hit a bit of a dilemma because I’ve essentially got four shirts that fit me and have pants that fit to go with them. I tried on several shirts today, and the buttons . . . bulged. Over my bulges. It was unpleasant. I’ve been working hard on this diet for some time now. It’s not been on this latest diet for the better part of three weeks, and the skip days that I’ve had should be about canceled out by the deficits of late (it’s hard to eat as many calories as I should, sometimes, without just scarfing down utter garbage). This situation needs to be remedied. Somehow or other. It’s got to change. The problem is, what I really need to do is anaerobic exercise. I need to just suck it up and do it at home. That’s why I want a bit more time to clean. I was invited out this weekend, but, I think I’m going to make an excuse and stay home and finish cleaning. I feel that my life’ll just feel a lot better when everything is clean. It has so far.
Again, not a great deal to report in spite of almost 1,500 words expressing it. I hope that all is well for everybody. I hope that all stays well for me. I’m terrified. I want this to last, but everything right now just seems to be too perfect. I just have no idea.