Life Questions

I had an interview for another job in Japan yesterday.  It was an all day thing, including presenting a lesson we’d planned, so basically all weekend was caught up with planning for the interview then being at the interview.  Afterwards, they were calling people between 4-6 pm for a second interview.  I didn’t get called

I’ve been thinking I could do further study that would help me get a job teaching English in Japan but I don’t know that I’m that interested — which makes me question my whole reason for doing this. 

I want to live in Japan and I want to learn Japanese.  One option is go for a while and study Japanese. 

The salary for teaching English isn’t so great anyway.  If I stay in Australia for longer I can save money (I can save more than the monthly teaching salary every month anyway). 

Another idea I’ve been toying with is a long holiday in Japan, followed by a trip on the Trans-Siberian railway across Russia then some time in Europe ending up staying with friends in London.  It’s totally do-able. 

Sometimes it’s good to realise that life is always full of options.

Why?

• Why is it NOT Friday?  I keep thinking it’s Friday but it isn’t. 
• Why is my morning bus ride full of school kids who look 30?  Not in a “dressing older than your years” way but in a “had a hard life” way.
• Why is my workplace full of arrogant dudes who gesticulate far too much when they talk?  I’ve nearly been wiped out a few times when I’ve just been walking around minding my own business.
• Why …. arrrgghhhh suits…. why?  Thanks for the suggestions but my main problem is that, since I’ve put on weight, I’m kinda between regular and plus sizes.  The regular sizes are too small around my belly, the plus sizes have shoulders like an American footballer!  Why?
• Also why… do regular sizes get sections – casual, business, slutty etc but plus sizes are ONE section… Plus.  Like, here you go fatties, a bunch of random clothes.  And be damn grateful for them.  And no, we have no suits because everyone knows fatties can’t hold a corporate job!  And definitely no shirts with collars.  Fat people wear tops, not shirts. 
• Why does soy sauce come in fishes?  It’s not made from fish.
• Why is it still not Friday?
• Why is there NOWHERE that sells decent coffee north of Separation Street?
• Why can’t I just ask people a question at work, instead of having to schedule a meeting in outlook to which they invite other people until it become a major issue?
• Why do I own so many books?  They are heavy.  I’m throwing them out and getting one of those electronic book reader things?
• Why do people complain about having no time to do things yet spend 30 minutes or more, twice a day, sitting on the train staring blankly into space?

Moved

I’m all moved, … in a living out of boxes kind of way.  No internet access at home for over a week though!   I never want to move again.  I hate lugging shit.

Blokes

I am so seriously sick of all these books at the moment about how to find a bloke to date/marry.  How about this latest one — the one about settling for whatever dude will have you.  I haven’t read it, on account of it sounds like arse, but I read a thing in the paper about it so that more than qualifies me to comment, right.

Anyway, apparently EVERY woman, every single woman that is, over 30 wants to be married more than anything else in the world.  Because that’s such a great thing. 

Lower your standards, play stupid games.  Don’t ever answer a text message within 3.45 hours.  Flatter him but  don’t be available.  And, my favourite, don’t have sex for the first 6 dates.  Meld yourself into the perfect yet hard to obtain woman.

I’m going to write my own book, “What’s so great about a freakin’ husband anyway?”

It’s going to include advice like:

• have sex on the first date (if not before).  You don’t want to waste time on a dud. 
• act like an insane bitch.  Have you ever noticed the chicks you know who are total insane bitches always have really nice, sweet boyfriends/husbands.  Why is that? 
• let him see you in your trackies and no make-up.  Start as you mean to continue. 

When you are single, your life is basically go to work, come home, cook dinner, watch telly, go to bed.  After the novelty of romance has worn off, what are you left with — go to work, come home, cook dinner, watch telly, go to bed.  Except you don’t even have control of the remote any more.  Instead of watching Sam and Dean do some inappropriate brotherly touching on Supernatural, you have to watch lame sports and shit. 

The only plus side of a relationship really is regular sex and someone to put out the garbage as far as I can.  Is it worth putting on make up and a push up bra for that?  Is it worth settling for Mr Boring and having to listen to long, involved stories about disputes with the accounts department?  Is it worth giving up having sex with every other man on the planet?

Well Dressed #2

I shoul’dn’t even have to mention this but, every time I walk around the city, I see this common sense tip is not so well known.

* When you get dressed, look in the mirror.  If a complete stranger can tell if your belly button is an innie or an outie, your top is too tight and yoú’ll look fat if you wear it. 

Who’d have thought you needed to spell that out?

Anyway, these are my fashion goals for the rest of this month, and going into February:

1. Don’t leave the house without wearing a bra.  Okay, you’d think I wouldn’t need to spell this out but sometimes I’m just popping downstairs for a cup of coffee then I get distracted.  Also maybe I should make that, don’t even pop downstairs without a bra (that’s just for this month cos after that there will be NO downstairs).
2. Buy new shoes.  I have like 1 pair that is decent to wear to work.  I wear them most every day.  That’s not good.
3. Buy a good, plain black suit.  I need one.  I can’t find one anywhere.  Damn fashion.  Damn being “on style”.  Whatever happened to classics?
4. Get a haircut.  My hair is annoying me.  I was thinking of going to a hair college for a cheap haircut then realised I’d have to take (unpaid) time off work to do it.  Since I get paid more than a hairdresser, it’s a false economy really.
5. Don’t dress like a kindergartener for work.

Moving!

I’m moving house soon.  I can’t wait.  Peace and quiet.  I am really looking forward to getting to sleep before 2 am.    The most urgent moving need is to get a coffee machine.  Can anyone recommend one that is good and cheap?

I’m still not back on track with diet and exercise but things are getting better.  I am going to set some goals for the rest of the month:

1. Exercise everyday, even if it’s just light exercise.  Got to get in to the mindframe that exercise needs to be done.
2. Track food.  Even if I don’t try to limit my food, I think just tracking it will be a good start.  It’s too easy to forget things or think something is okay when it’s not.
3. Drink water.  I’m good at work but less so at home.

I ran on the treadmill on Friday.  Last night I used my massage roller on my calves and couldn’t believe what tight balls of tightness they were.  I think the running plan needs to focus on short and often rather than nothing for a week or so then going all out.

Fat

Tonight I made gyudon for dinner.  That’s Japanese style beef on rice.  Yum yum.  I’d have posted a pic but I’ve eaten it.

It was such a major freak out for me to buy Japanese style beef – ie. beef marbled with fat.  It was like going against everything I’ve been told to believe – like swearing in church or something.  OMG I’m buy fat.  On purpose.

Then I realised something – Japanese people -> eat fatty meat -> aren’t fat.  Australians -> obsessed with fat free -> are fat.

That’s a simplification since there are fat Japanese people (prolly cos they eat Western food) and all that but still.

Also, processed carbs = bad but Japanese people eat white rice all the time.  Even for breakfast. 

Arrgghhh… my head is going to explode!

Ups and Downs!

After my last post, that very night even, the people from the cafe decided to stay back drinking (and laughing/talking very loudly).  At 12.30 I went downstairs and had a few words to the owner.  I calmly put across my point of view.  It’s good to do these things calmly, rather than getting worked up and stressed then angry.  They left not long after.

I don’t think I got my real point across though.  It’s not that I had to go down and ask them to be quiet THIS TIME. It’s that I have to do it constantly (or just put up with the noise).  Things might be okay for a few days or a week or so, but then it happens again.

I think if the owner wants to rent out this flat, and charge money for doing so, there should be some consideration of our needs.

***

Yesterday, my stars in all the various places I read such things, said it was a bumper day for love.  One of them even said I’d be hit by a love bomb!  I imagined meeting someone and them being surrounded by hearts and flowers like in a manga (for Deb, and anyone else who doesn’t know – manga is the Japanese style comics.  Unlike comic books here, there are aimed at all age groups.  You often see businessmen reading manga on the train).

All day, I looked at guys around me, thinking ‘are you the love bomb?’

A guy asked me for a light at the tram stop but I think he was kinda gay and there was no bomb.

At breaks and lunch time I saw nothing promising.

After work, my mum told me to go out for coffee so I did.  Again, nothing promising.  I did have some awesome potatoes though and a nice jug of refreshing cocktail.

So I gave up and came home.  Then, at 11.55 I got a message!  Last month, in Tokyo, we went for drinks at a tiny bar with a very cute barman.  He is a musician and gave us the address for a clip on youtube of him singing.  I checked it out and left a message.  That was about a month ago and I forgot all about it. 

Is he the love bomb?  He told us to go back to his bar next time we are in Tokyo.  We definitely will, if we can find it in the labryinth of back streets that is Shinjuku.

***

I mentioned a while back about getting screwed over my job offer in Japan.  Well, I’d got an email from them saying that they might have a few jobs come up this month.  Basically if I hadn’t heard by the 15th, I’d have to reinterview, except they are only interviewing in Canada this year! 

Obviously, I haven’t heard.  It’s a bit disappointing but mostly I got over all that last month and didn’t really expect anything.  I’ve got an interview with another company next month.  I also got a knockback from another company.  So depressing.

Since yesterday, as well as being love bomb day, was the lunar eclipse, apparently that is a good day to write down your wishes.  Anyways, yesterday I wrote a comprehensive list of what I actually want in a job if I move to Japan.  It’s one thing to write that I want a job/to move.  Getting a job isn’t that hard but some of the positions are basically slave wages for long hours and a lot of frustration.

***

I have three parties on this weekend!

Shopping stuff

Before Christmas, I ordered a skirt from City City online when they had stuff way marked down.  I got an email saying it was out of stock and offering me a 50% on another item – valid until 10/2.

I’ve just been on their site and there’s nothing I really want.  There are a couple of things that are okay and that stuff that you always need, like jeans, never fit me well from there anyway. 

Do I use the voucher or not?  Maybe I should hold off and see if they release any new stock before it expires.

One thing I did find on the site was this dress.  Do I have a warped mind or does that look very wrong to anyone else?

On the shower thing, don’t be thinking I’m a real dollybird that needs to use a heap of products to get clean and made up.  It’s not really the make up that is time-consuming – just a touch up of foundation and some eyeliner normally.  I’m not even that fussed about wearing makeup to work, just if I wear it in the morning I want to reapply (instead of having half washed off makeup).

The time consuming thing for showering is getting the water the right temp (at the gym with a bunch of other ppl using the showers, it can be hard) plus as Andrew said – the low flow shower heads.  What a pain.  Maybe they use less water but you stay in the shower until you are clean, don’t you?  If you only get a drip coming out then you just stay in longer!

I think I’ll stick to my plan of yoga/pilates style workouts at lunch and doing something more intense after work.  I want to start doing some running before work but that’s hard atm.  For one, as I said, I’ve lost my house keys so need my sister to let me out!  Also if I plan to get up early to workout, you can bet your arse the cafe staff end up sticking around until all hours making noise.  This living situation is getting out of hand — many things I don’t mention here — but hopefuly soon it will all be sorted

Hygiene stuff

• I’m sick today.  I’m not sure if it’s a stomach bug, too much heat or just an after effect of pilates! 
• I’ve lost my keys.  This is bad!  It’s not just a case of being another set cut.  I have the key to the cafe downstairs and it’s a security key so, if I cán’t find it soon, the lock needs to be replaced and a whole set of keys cut! 

Hygiene and other issues:

The past week or two, I’ve been going to the gym at lunch time.  I figure it’s a good way to get in those classes I feel I should do but don’t.  Stuff like pilates.  

My gym offers a few 30 or 45 minute lunchtime classes.  I don’t like taking too long for lunch and even the 45 minutes (with getting there time) are cutting it fine.

If I do pilates, I feel fine with not showering after class.  I’m not doing big movements and don’t get very sweaty.  If I’m doing something more cardio-fied, like running, then I always shower.

The other day, I did a powerplate class though.  It was strength training (on one of those new fangled vibrating plates).  I got a little sweaty; it’s more of a workout than pilates.  That’s getting into the grey area of needing to shower. 

Showering – it’s time consuming.  I need to do other stuff in my lunch hour.  Also, I figured I would have been as sweating running around the shops or something on a warm day.

Also, if I do a cardio class at lunch time, sometimes I don’t shower before work.  I kinda don’t see the need for a shower if I’m going to have one a few hours later.  I do try to avoid cardio at lunch time just because I really do hate showering then.  And I hate having to redo my makeup and hair.  I even hate having to lug my makeup with me.

What do you think?  What’s your “showering point” so to speak?   Am I a preternaturally slow showerer because it seems to add on at least 30 minutes to my changing time.