The Lougie Wedding

Well folks, can you believe that A & L will be married in 2 months. And yours truly is heading down there and meeting up with two of the J-Sunshine crew for fun in the sand, insanely expensive hotel rooms, Harry Potter land and good times!

Lougie went with the picture I created (see previous blog) with Adobe Photoshop and got their invitations on Shutterfly.

Lougie_Invite

Classic Collage 3x5 folded card

Modern greeting cards and party invitations by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Lazy, lazy, lazy

I think I took a nap yesterday for no better reason then I was bored. What is up with that? I don't know what's gotten into me, but I have no energy, no ambition, no nothing. I've gained 20 pounds since coming home - horrible, horrible American food (but I still love you crazy bread). My wii Fit sits in the corner like a small abandoned puppy and I get chastised by a talking board when I work up the energy to use it. And then I think, I really need more robust exercises games - um, yeah, right, you can't work up the energy to play "snowball fight" you slacker!
My doctor tells me there is something wrong with my thyroid (appointment for clarification later this week) and I am hoping that will shed a little light on this lethargic cloud that has descended upon me.

Then again, maybe I just need a vacation. It has been 4 months since the last one (~_^).

Where did Wonderland Go?

Well, well, time seems to fly - even in the real world. It's been 7 months - to the day - since my contract ended. I still think about Japan - my time there, friends, the job - at least once a day. Saturday, I found sushi erasers at the store and had to buy like 5 packs. It was nostalgia and, at the same time, things like that prove that the world is much smaller than we imagine.

I won't lie, coming home was hard. Maybe because I wasn't worried about where I would live or about getting a job. So I ended up just thinking a lot about what I'd left behind. I felt guilty because people would keep asking "Are you happy to be home?" and the true answer was "No, I wasn't." But you can't say that to people, because they automatically assume home = family. And I was happy to see my family, but I had never really missed them - they were only an Ethernet away. As for my extend family, they can say they missed me and wanted me to come home, but I've seen them only a handful of times in the last 7 months. And to be honest, those times tended to be a bit awkward. They are growing up, they aren't the people I left behind. People have there own lives to live, they weren't waiting for me to come home, and I was not expecting them to. They've changed and so have I - and not in good or bad ways - just change. So I was happy to see friends and family, but I was not happy that I had to leave Japan. I wasn't ready, I would still wake up and think, "I live in JAPAN", three years later. And I liked it. Yeah, it wasn't perfect, I wouldn't say that - but it was still what I wanted to be doing. I did not want to go back to the what I was doing before Japan. But.....

Somethings, however, have not changed. While I am EXTREMELY grateful to be employed in this economy, I am a bit disturbed by the fact that I am living at home and working at the EXACT same place I left before Japan. It's a different job, but still, after Japan, I feel like I've fallen back into a pattern I thought I'd escaped. It's almost like Japan was wonderland, I fell thru the hole, but now I am back again and this world is EXACTLY the same. It's just a bit crazy. But I am not the same, I am different, and I don't exactly fit anymore.
So, I have an escape plan - that is the good news. It's going to take a least another year to get all my ducks in a row, finish the schooling I need, but the end result should be a ticket to another adventure thru the looking glass.

Having experienced the life I want to live, it's just a bit hard to wait to get back there. I've always, always been impatient - and that has not changed. I suppose I just have to listen to all the great ones who preach patience. Whoo, that's hard though. Ikimasho!!!

The Dream has Ended

Well folks, as of 2pm Thursday August 6th, I am officially unemployed. WOW! I still cannot believe my time in Japan has come to an end. It took so long for me to get here and it went SO fast. Hands down, this has been the best experience of my life (so far, of course!).

I learned alot about myself while I was here and I am hoping to use this new knowledge to forge a new path for myself once I get back to the States. What have I learned... well, perhaps you can ask me one day - I'm saving that for face-to-face chats with the people who really want to know. Blogs are great and all, but they can't replay human interaction - I did learn that.

Not sure if I'll continue this blog when I get home (I am afraid it could become an "angsty, I miss my life in Japan" dumping ground - and who wants to read that shit??) For what it's worth, I've enjoyed keeping this blog - for my own entertainment. Thanks to the few out there who read it and occasionally posted a comment - I really appreciated that!

I am off to enjoy my last 36 hours in Toyama. Sayonara!

What the TWITTER?!

Okay, just tried to read a friend's blog that is now seemingly made up entirely of Twitter posts and... not so much. So, while my posts here are few and far between I vow to you and the cyber world that I will NEVER turn it into a dumping ground for Twitter. Will I fill it with useless, meaningless, shallow posts? Probably. Random 140 character or less posts from myself and other unidentifiable folk? Never. Net 2.0 - sometimes I just don't get you.

Okay, now that that is taken care of. Only 79 days left as an English teacher in Japan. Less then 100 until I am back in Michigan. Wow!! Where did the time go?? Cause is sure doesn't feel like it's been 3 years. I think I am ready to go, but there is still some lingering doubts. So please don't ask me "Are you excited to go home?"

Another thought just hit me (as I contemplate what TV show to watch next)... I am gonna have a pretty hard time readjusting to job that actually requires me to "work" my entire shift. (^_^) Ah, life...

Please STOP

Dear Co-workers,

Please stop the following in the teachers room:

• popping bubble wrap (it may be fun for you... but it's driving me INSANE)
• cutting your finger and toenails - that really is just disgusting - where are those nail shavings going??
• slurping your tea/soup/beverage (#1 pet peeve of a friend of mine - so it made this list)
• humming "It's a small world" - there really is a time and a place

Hum, those seem to be the items for today. I really am gonna yank the bubble wrap out of this girl's hands though - I mean REALLY. UGH - she's started again. Maybe I need a nap?

Enter the Year of the Cow! MOOOO

Welcome 2009!
Resolutions are the thing to do, so here are a few:

1. Get my fat arse in shape! I recall that when I left for Japan 2.5 years ago, I was gonna come back to America a smaller person. Alas, I went back to America and I was exactly the same as when I left. So I've got 9 months to get in gear.
2. Learn some form of meditation. I am thinking Zen given my location, but anything is cool.
3. Try to be more patient - I've realized that I am a very impatient person. I want things and I want them NOW. But... sometimes we gotta wait to get what we want.

Okay, that's enough for now. Don't want to many resolutions - don't want to fail horribly (~_^). This is not a resolution but I am gonna try to focus on the future, leave the past where it belongs. Forward HO!!!!!!!!!!!!