No, Really, I Am an American

But not quite a kender.

If you don’t get the above reference, you obviously do not speak Drangonlance. Anyway, I just got back from an evening of wandering around Namba. You’d think that I had a good idea of the area, but there’s soooo much to see!! This time about, I found yet another Golden Dragon place (”street noodles” vendor) and another side of the area I have yet to explore. So far, I’ve seen one Mister Donut, four Starbucks, three McDonald’s, one Subway, one Seattle’s Best, and a Wendy’s. I have only eaten at one of the McDonald’s ‘cuz it was right by work and Braden and I wanted something really quick to eat, and visited the Starbuck’s twice. Not out of because I was desperate for a mocha or anything, more out of convenience and the fact that I could actually sit down. (I had to go there twice due to phone issues…more on that later.) The way I figure it, I’m making sure I know my way around for the off chance that someone might actually come and visit me.

I’m also trying to find different places to eat. I default to Yoshinoya and Golden Dragon a lot, but I’d really like to expand my cuisine. In my wandering, I ended up picking up a tekka bento. It was about 800 Yen for something like twelve pieces. Not unreasonable. I’m sure I can find cheaper stuff eventually, but for the time being, I’m doing okay money-wise. Besides, I have three months (more or less) of being confined to the Osaka area due to probation; so I don’t foresee any expensive trips any time soon.

As for a few comments I’ve read — dude, if I met a Tru or a Faith, THAT WOULD BE AWESOMELY HILARIOUS!!! I couldn’t help but smile a little when I met a Luce on our first day, so soon after seeing “Imagine Me and You”. (Sadly, I never saw her again, I think she was one of the Okinawa Nova people.)

Tiara is our token minority — for once, it’s not me!! She knew I was from the Midwest immediately, having been born in East St. Louis.

As for the password protected address, blame Mark for that one. It’s his fault.

Hey, I just thought of something. Has anyone seen me Da? Is he still having computer issues? Not that I expect him to comment lots or anything, but so far, this is the only way I’ve heard from people back home.

I can’t wait to get my own internet access. While I do like free, I really think that John’s being so tempremental because of the signal I’m using. That’s preposterous, you say? Well then how do you explain the five minutes — I’m not exaggerating, I timed it — it takes for programs to open when I’m on-line, but the usual few seconds when I take out the wireless card? Also, if the wireless card is still plugged in, I can’t shut down properly. It’s a pain in the ass, let me tell you.

I’m really kicking myself for not bringing that little DVD player. I bet it would work. *grumbles irritably*

I forgot to mention that I got my phone. It was quite the trial. After several hours of various problems, I finally got it yesterday. The first time I went to the ComStation, I filled out the date of my credit card expiration incorrectly. He told me to come back in an hour. (First trip to Starbuck’s). The second time I went there, my ward sheet (the official document that says my alien registration card was being processed) had my birthday wrong…which meant I had to go back to the ward office to get that fixed. Thus, I had to come back the next day.

After fixing the birthday problem (the ward officer totally remembered me from the other day, still don’t know if that was a good thing or a bad one), I had to wait another hour for my phone. (Thus marking the second trip to Starbuck’s.)

It’s a Vodafone, which is the cheapest and most popular phone. Apparently, it’s pretty big in Australia, too. I still haven’t named it yet.

Not long after getting the Vodafone, you’ll never guess what I came across. T-Mobile. My eyes went wide when I saw the familiar pink sign. I ought to check it out, just in case it would be easier to just keep using Mal. I’m sure it wouldn’t be, but you can never be too sure. It might well be that I can still use that service for calling home only or something like that. Highly unlikely…but you can’t blame me for considering it. After all, I had my phone unlocked.

Tomorrow or Sunday, Darya wants me to cook. I stared at her blankly when she first suggested it, since I can only make one dish. We’ll see how well this goes.