April 7th through 18th. Dreams, Boredom, Earthquakes, and a Birthday in 2016

I have no memory of anything of note happening on the 7th after completing the entry.
The 8th was another dull BOE day. I have no memory of anything of note happening. Overeating and non-exercising continued as I felt relatively lousy.
On the 9th, I woke up (early, by accident) and played Pathfinder. A bit dull and a bit interesting. Tris got some individual roleplaying in, but it was all in ones and twos rather than having a big thing going on. Which was a bit frustrating. Still, such is life. After that, I went, late, to a hanami party. I wanted to put on my kimono etc., but, it just wasn’t working. Partly because of the difficulty, partly due to my increased girth, partly due to my upset stomach. Still, I’d RSVP’d, so, even though I didn’t want to go, I went.
There I bumped into Ken, whom I call Fabrizzio (except spelled properly). He’s the president, I guess, of KAJET this year. He talked to me, and awkwardly kept touching me which was hilarious, about how I’d run for an office and not run, but then asked me if there were any ideas I had. I pitched the theater idea and he loved it. Figures he would. I hope nobody tells him I’m not gay or half of my pull will vanish.
Let nobody ever say that there’s no such thing as “The Friend Zone”.
Then, I drove back home. It was an hour drive each way, and nothing much to show for it. I believe that I got myself a good dinner. Probably at Kitchen Inoue. (As I wrote the next paragraph, I realized that I had gone to Kitchen Inoue, but it had been closed, meaning I went on the 7th or 8th)
The tenth, I got up early and went to the Picnic Market in town. I don’t know the English for Picnic Market, so I’ll use the Engrish. It’s sort of like . . . it’s like a flea market, but it was mostly preexisting stores. Then there were lots of food stands. But, like, really good ones. Several really good restaurants (including Kitchen Inoue and Rara) were there. It was great. Also various pastry shops and Japanese snow cones and so much delicious stuff! I ate way too much. It was pouring rain, but it was still fun, and the event was huge. It was held in the big park in town, and I’ll be sure to go back there.
After that, on Sunday the 10th still, I went to my guitar lesson which went fairly well. Then, back home, and no idea what I did for dinner. However, after that mystery (which was probably 7-11 or Family Mart) I opened a few presents from Mum and tried to have Simona watch too. I got my birthday badges from home and got those ready. Also, unwrapped in the box, were two octopuses, which I, of course, noticed. And a little Easter carrot made of Reese’s Pieces. All orange (obviously). I sent pictures to Simona.
I got up early on the 11th and called mum. Then I opened the rest of my presents. The best item I’d already opened the night before: Tris’ green octopus with a top hat, mustache, and monocle. Mostly I got socks and toiletries and meds and the like. Two stuffed octopuses (counting Tris’). An octopus beach ball. A few other minor things as well, plus candy and what not.
I got ready for work and put on my two new birthday badges and the bright, shining (literally flashing with electric lights) button that I’d gotten to advertise the fact of it being my birthday. Sadly, I was at the BOE. Still no sign of my schedule on Friday, I got it after showing up on Monday. Well, I got a free Yakult drink out of it, which was nice. A coworker bought me one. Lunch was Primo Passo, and there I ended up getting a free desert upgrade. Then, back to work, then Eikaiwa where I got a birthday song and cake and three beers for a present. Then, back home, killed time, and went to Inoue where I had steak and a lovely chat. Then, I went home, feeling utterly miserable, and talked to mum and Simona a bit before heading to bed far too late and feeling awful.
I got up today, the 12th, and I’m back at Miyachu. My desk is now next to the VP’s, which makes me feel very awkward when I play chess. I tried to walk a lot today, but it seems that my muscles atrophy as quickly as my stomach expands. I have gotten over 10K steps in, but I feel worse than after getting in the 20K in the time before.
No classes today. Tomorrow I’m scheduled with Ebihara Sensei, which also likely means more classes. Feeling down and lethargic, sitting at my esk pretending to work does not help.
I was supposed to have Urasenke tea practice tonight. I agreed to going because I thought it was a party. My normal (Urasenke) sensei wasn’t overly happy with me doing urasenke classes (especially as it tends to mess me up in class for her). Now I’m trying to get out of it, though, to be honest, a lot of it is just the fact that I’m so sleepy. I really do think maybe it’s narcolepsy. It’d explain why stress ALWAYS equals sleepy.
(There was a time skip, hence any grammar issues, this was supposed to be posted here, but, will, instead, be expanded)
The 13th was dull. But not unendurably so. It got better as time went on. I made my way to Miyachu and was shocked to find out that Ebihara actually aimed to use me in a class! Adding to this, Tateishi Sensei, who seems pretty darned cool, requested me to do a self-introduction to the first years. They all knew me, and 1-1 has my favorite boy from Hirakawa, which is spiffy. But we had fun. I think that Tateishi may just be young and a bit serious around students, which I think is relatively normal for Japanese teachers, and is more relaxed around colleagues. I like that he took the initiative to request me on my first scheduled day. At lunch, I ate with 1-1, which was super fun. There are 38 students in 1-1, so they make 6 tables with 2 slightly bigger groups. They got in a rock paper scissors battle about who’d keep me. However, as that can take forever (six players playing, and you have to wait until somehow there are only two things being displayed), I taught them a modified version of “Nose Goes” where the last person to touch is out. I think maybe this will revolutionize Japanese society. Probably not, though. One of the things that struck me as highly unrealistic in The Crosstime Engineer series (a sci-fi series that involves such craziness as time travel, pocket universes, perpetual motion, genetically engineered perfect women/horses, and an attractive redheaded engineer with an active love life) was that whenever he suggested some new improvement, everybody readily took to it. That’s just not how things go. I’ve seen groups of ten or twenty kids play rock paper scissors and end up wasting tons of time as they have to wait for the statistic eventuality of the group only making two hand gestures. Nobody’s liked any of the systems I’ve suggested to avoid this. Such is life, though, I suppose. We’ve all got how we like to do things.
After school, I went back home and killed time until the Eikaiwa birthday party for me. We went to a place for Japanese Barbecue, and there was a lot of delicious beer as well. I ate tongue for the first time, but I passed on intestines. I’ve already eaten them, they were super popular, and Kyoko doesn’t like them, so I had a good excuse. They had another cake for me, which was wonderful! It was, all things considered, a pretty good day.
Today, the 14th, I’m scheduled with Inori Sensei. It’s a bit odd sitting so far from her, isolated at a desk grouping of four with nobody who speaks English. Sitting next to the VP is still weird. We’ll see what happens.
The temperature was lovely last night so I opened a ton of windows. Now my house is wet from the humidity. Dammit.
(Continued on 4/18)
The 14th continued on fine. Nothing of interesting to report. Until the night. That night, we had a big earthquake that ended up doing a lot of damage in Kumamoto. Still, it seemed like a relatively minor affair at the time. Kagoshima barely saw any impact.
The 15th I had Tateishi, and I enjoyed it. I like him. He seems a bit confused by my teaching style, and I have a hard time reading him. He’s just . . . bizarre. But pleasant. In an odd way. So, I ended up having fun in his classes. For whatever reason, we finished early on Friday, but the kids (most of them) still had to stay. I spent hours talking to some of the band kids. Surprisingly, they’re ALL girls. There’s not a single guy in band, which I hadn’t noticed before. Strange to think about, really. Maybe I should have gone to school here, eh? Still, it was fun. I think I humanized myself a bit to some of the kids, and that’s super important.
The night of the fifteenth saw a bigger earthquake that ended up doing more damage. There was serious damage done in Kumamoto, including at least one major bridge collapse and damage to the castle. I’m waiting to hear about volunteer opportunities out there. I want to show that JETs care. When you’re a JET, after all, you’re a JET all the way.
That morning, I got up after having not slept well again (nobody slept well Thursday and Friday, between the alarms and the earthquakes). I got up early hoping to work stuff out with Tris so that I could participate in Pathfinder in spite of having to go to the Dinosaur Park Hanami. Well, the game was canceled and Tris forgot to tell me. I mean, it’s understandable. See, I’d tried to work out a way to play it while driving, but I’d technically canceled it (well, announced I couldn’t come) weeks ago. However, his mom’s friend died (plus Tris’ mom is selling their old house), so he was dragged into helping her with a bunch of stuff. So, that was disappointing. The hanami was also canceled due to the earthquakes. That meant that I could have gone to Kimono, but, I wanted to sleep, so I had Megumi leave a message at the Bunka Center for the teacher, and I took a nap.
I got up, and I didn’t feel great, and I talked to Simona for a lot, which was lovely. I really wish that she and I were together at some point. Oh well. Here’s to August, probably.
Saturday night was made fun by Waiwai. I originally went to Kitchen Inoue after my nap, which was not taking any more orders by the time I got there. So, I went to Waiwai. I bumped into a family that made everything just lovely. Ma-san and his wife work at the local sparkplug factory (like everybody else), but he’d always wanted to study abroad (though he never had the money to even go to Japanese college), so he lived in South Africa working for years where he learned English (and smatterings of the local languages (it’s odd hearing a Japanese guy speak Zulu)). He wants his daughters to grow up more internationalized, and he wants to do all he can to preserve his own English. At first, we talked, I was sitting at the counter and he was one table over. Then he sat next to me. Then his wife joined, then we all moved over to his family’s table. Turns out that Ma-san’s wife is the sister of the owner of Waiwai. Well, at least the owner’s wife. I don’t know whose name is on the lease. Anyway, we had a great time. I was invited to go pottery making with them. Then, they found out it was my birthday, and they sang to me. By that time, the kids from Mr. and Mrs. Waiwai had joined in (they’re two of my Eshin kids) and we were having an amazing time. As a parting gift, I got a bottle of wine. I love Japan sometimes.
Sunday morning, I woke up earlier than I should have (though still relatively late). The town’s convenience stores are almost out of the fresh food. I guess the road/rail damage is hurting supply lines. Then I had my guitar lesson, which went REALLY well (shockingly). Then it was home and just . . . miserably killing time until sleep.
This morning, I woke up before my alarm and couldn’t get back to sleep. I am now at Miyachu, and, as it’s an Ebihara day, I probably have nothing to do, unless Tateishi wants me, and let’s all hope that he does. I took Excederin, and I’ve had some tea, and now I feel utterly wired and jittery. Ever since the earthquake, I seem to be shaking. I’m never sure what’s me, and what’s the ground.
Last week, I was haunted by strange dreams. I dreamed, for instance, that I got to meet my imagined form of Rachael. It was oddly sweet, and very strange, to meet a person whom I knew wasn’t real, even in my dream, but still was in some way. It was like the girl I’d always seen her being was there in front of me. I also had a strange and terrifying dream where I was having sex with Niki. She was slightly less obese, but she was still married. I found myself making weak excuses to justify what I was doing. I also had a dream featuring Arielle that I should have written. I also seem to remember having dreamed of Amanda recently, too, in addition to the earlier mentioned dream. It’s all very strange, and I’m not sure what to make of it.
Physically, I feel awful. I’ve put on a lot of weight lately, after burning myself out. I’m also pretty sure I’m depressed as my level of exhaustion is out of all proportion to how tired I should be. Even last week, when I forced myself to walk while at school, I was shocked and horrified at how easily and quickly I wore out. I struggled to pull off 2-3 thousand steps before tiring, when, before, I was fine doing over 4 within a 50 minute period. Star climbing left me out of breath. I just feel awful. However, I’ve got to gaman my way through this. Today, I’ve vowed, I keep my step goal of over 10k, but I add a Fitness Blender Total Body Workout. A beginner one that lasts for 40 minutes. I’m also shocked at how weak I’ve become. Though it shouldn’t surprise me: I never move anymore. Theater really did do wonders for me.
I had a really good talk with Simona last night which has helped me a bit. It was one of those kick-in-the-pants moments that I’ve grown sadly dependent on. Still, it worked, that that’s key. I feel more ready to get out there and kick ass. Which I’ve needed. I did more cleaning yesterday, and, hopefully, I’ll do more today. I’ve GOT to get my guitar skills moving. There are just so many things I need to do to get my life in order, and it’s difficult to get it all in while still trying to do the stuff that I have to do. I wish, I really wish, that I didn’t have to sit here during office hours. That was one great thing about China. Still, if China is any indication, I don’t know that I’d put my time to decent use anyway.