No, Really, I Am an American

It seems more like I have a lot of the latter to do, starting with Wednesday…

I am definitely slipping back into the rhythm of things quite easily, especially in regards to sleep pattern. It’s always been easy for me to adjust to this time zone than vice versa. Hmm, I wonder if that’s a sign or something.

Anyway, Wednesday has always been my morning where I get to laze…and that’s more or less exactly what I did. It’s come to be that time again and I’m re-watching Gilmore Girls, this time starting with Season 4. Actually, I think I started it a little before I left for the States and have simply resumed from where I left off. I gotta say, owning this series has definitely been a sound investment.

I continued in my evil in that I did something stupid for lunch: I ate McDonald’s. Again. I had had it for lunch on Tuesday between the first half and meeting up with Kate, and well, apparently I still had a taste for it. I was kinda chagrined to notice that the same worker who sold me my lunch yesterday was once again manning the register. Maybe she wouldn’t remember me…

Nope. So much for that. On the bright side, they are very kind at this McDonald’s. I mean, when you wait for your order, they tell you to sit down. And when the food is ready, they actually take it to you, then rush to the door to open it for you as you exit. See what I mean about the fast-food workers in this country?

I finally had my appointment with Alex to see the apartments in Bentenchou; I also got it in my head that I should finally change my American money over since I would be out that way (which consequently led to a folly).

The last time I was in Bentenchou, I took the Chuo Line the whole way there. This time, I did a transfer thing since if I decided to take the apato, I would have to make a transfer at Awaza anyway. I thought I’d try it out, ya know?

Alex came to meet me at Exit 6, in a van no less. I was amazed. I don’t ride in cars very often in this country (save last week when Jamie and his girlfriend drove Jacob and me to OCAT) so I marveled a bit. Alex was a pretty genial guy, he hails from California, but his accent sounds more like something outa New York or Jersey.

The units he showed me seemed much smaller than the one I saw in June, much to my disappointment. It only took me a bit of look to know that staying at the house for the same price is a much better deal. Still, I looked at each different style he had to show me. I have a strong feeling that Bentenchou is out, however.

Thereafter, I went to Namba Parks to the utilize the UFJ currency exchange. Here’s where things take a minor turn for the unpleasant. I got all the way to the currency exchange, even filled out the form and everything…and realized the envelope containing the cash was not in my bag. I searched through all the pockets and sighed. I musta left it on the kitchen table. D’oh!

I wasn’t overly miffed or anything, ’twas but a minor oversight as far as I was concerned. I could always come back a little before my shift, etc, etc. So I trekked on back to Shoji in a relatively good mood. The apato viewing may have been a bust, as well as the money exchange thing, but on the bright side, Alex gave me a flyer of a place that takes donations. Now I could get rid of all the clothes Jacob left behind.

Upon reaching home, however, I looked for the envelope, only to find it not on the kitchen table. I went upstairs, thinking perhaps it was on top of my bookshelf.

Hmmm, okay. Don’t panic. It probably fell onto the bed or something. Or not. Check the bag again? Maybe it slipped into my notebook or something.

I ended up tearing apart my bag, even the one I didn’t take, and my room but to no avail. I went over in my head the possibilities of where the money could be. Since then, I have thus resigned to having lost the money. Now I’m really glad that I didn’t take the $500 like I had originally planned otherwise I’d be even more upset. Not that losing $200 is cheap, but it’s seriously better than $500. I’m bummed, don’t misunderstand me…but on the bright side, someone had a good day because of me and my folly, and possibly the hole I discovered in my backpack.

I am really bad with money it seems. (And yeah, I looked under the refrigerator, too.)

I continued on through Star’s Hollow and Rory’s first year at Yale when I got it in my head to find out if Phil had his break at 6:00 PM like he usually does, figuring that maybe we could meet up for food of some kind. Things certainly worked out in my favor here in that not only was Phil available, but so was Anna.

Score.

On my way to meeting them, I ran into Scottish Steve and promptly kidnapped him. It was really nice having dinner together. We established that this Firefly Sunday we would venture to Umeda in search of Shepherd’s Pie. Apparently Steve sampled this fantastic savory the other night and seeing as how he hails from a country where this is regular fare and proclaimed this “very good”, I can only imagine that it would be up to par. I’m quite looking forward to it.

That evening was also the housewarming for Scottish Lou’s new pad here in Shoji. She and three other friends moved into the neighborhood recently and were having quite the shindig in honor of it. So, we made plans to meet together and go to the party as a party.

The event itself was admittedly uncomfortable. I am generally reluctant to make appearances at such functions, and walking into that kitchen, I remembered why. I also remembered what it was about Western women that bothers me. When they look at you, there’s something measuring in their gaze.

Or so it seems to me.

Don’t forget the part where I’m insane. I’m self-conscious and insecure, I get that. Hence, I generally refrain from situations where I would encounter such gazes.

I really hated the way those girls looked at me. I hate that they can make me feel like I don’t belong.

Stupid complex!

The house itself, however, is pretty swank. It’s unfurnished, but it’s Western. It’s like a townhouse you’d find in a suburb. A pretty nice find, if you ask me. There are some downsides to it, like the whole unfurnished thing. But they’ll each end up paying 35,000 a month, which is already less than what Jacob and I paid for ours, and they have quite modern structuring.

Phil, Steve, Anna, and I ended up congregating in Lou’s room for the length of time I stayed there. It was on the main level and away from the people in the kitchen. Anna really wanted to play a drinking game, and sadly, we ended up with “I Never” — Anna drank my share.

I parted company sometime around 12:30 or so, spent another hour in Star’s Hollow, and drifted off.

Thursday marked the first day of my weekend. I wasn’t overly productive, but Rob and I had made plans to maybe hang out. I confirmed some things with him and around 1:30, I rode the bike over to his place.

We watched some British show for a bit, much like the Daily Show only older and British. Rob got it in his head that we should ride into Namba. I glared at him, but consented. It has been some time since I’ve made the ride.

I still hate that hill, and riding in the winter is a bitch on your lungs. Once we reached a point that was level and I was next to him, I panted out how much I hated him for this. All in good fun, of course. But still…

We ended up in AmeMura; he wanted to buy some stuff from his friends back home (he left on Friday) and found two very cool Japanese shirts. He suggested going to Slices afterwards, so that’s where we had an early dinner.

Dude, Slices has minorly changed their venue. Usually, you walk up to the register and order, but now we sit down and they come and take your order. This guy we know, Chris (one of the United Nations people I met back in the day), was there, too so we ended up joining him. They serve more than pizza now, too — they put sammiches and wraps and the best of all: a brunch set. Served daily until 3:00 PM. I was seriously excited about that. And the potato mountain. Hey, anything called “potato mountain” hasta be good, yeah?

The ride home was equally harrowing, but I survived. Later that evening, I got it in my head to text Matt. Hence, after he was finished with work, I met him, Melinda, and Steve at Royal Host in Kita and caught up with him and Melinda (they’re now a couple). I followed the trio back to their house and together we watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It was great fun. And ya know what? That movie is a lot of fun, too. I know why it’s all controversial and all, but on the whole, it’s just fun to watch.

Anna had asked me to spar with her today, but those plans were changed a bit since she was feeling tired. Thus, I met her in Fuse and we took the Kintetsu back to Namba together so we could eat at the Hawaiian burger place. We talked about the various people leaving, including herself, and about Mike, and just stuff in general. It was kinda cool. We ended up spending the afternoon together, and then she came over to watch Serenity.

It’s been an interesting week as far as I’m concerned. First Kate, and everything this weekend. It’s been…good. Cool even.

Well, except for the losing $200 bit.

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Today’s listening pleasure brought to you in part by Christopher Aaron Weise. Nice compilation, sir!