I Like It When The World Shakes

(The title's an allusion...ask me if you really want to know)

So...it's been a week since I last updated and I've felt guilty every day for the past four days. And although I know I have a plethora of things I could write about today...I'm just feeling a little lazy. So, instead of writing about everything...I think I'll just hit some highlights. Enjoy.

I think this happened before my last entry, but it's happened again SINCE, so I'll include it anyway. There's a big, fatty mall on top of a big, fatty hill a few miles from our apartment, so we've now taken a few trips up to see it. The first time was just for shopping. The second time, we rode our bikes (so we weren't at the mercy of the buses or taxis) and caught a movie and rode the ferris wheel. Good fun. Good fun indeed.



We also took a little trip to Hita, where Phil lives. There we had a little barbecue, played a little guitar, and did a little relaxing...and of course, a little strange-graffitti-picture-taking. It's a really nice town. I thought it would be a little more rural, but it was actually quite pleasant. We'll definitely be going back.







Monday started off with a bang. At 7 AM we both got to experience our first earthquake. It was a 5.2, but by the time it reached our town it was only a 3 or a 4...hard to tell from the map. Either way, we suffered a little damage, and are now sans-mirror. (We have since chopped the bookshelf in half and made it into two smaller, sturdier (and cuter) shelves.)



We also met a new neighbor a few days ago. He's only 25 and he lives 2 floors below us. Hopefully we'll get to know him a little better. We don't have any Japanese friends our age in town...and it'd be really nice to have someone to hang out with. So...we'll keep you updated on that (no photo of him yet...sorry).

This week my students are getting ready for their annual sports festival, so I haven't had many classes. I'll take more pictures at the actual event this Saturday...I don't want to spoil it for you. But here's a little teaser...



That may sound like a good thing, but really I've been bored off my gourd for the most part. All the free-time has had one nice side-effect, though. I finally took matters into my own hands and fiddled with my network settings until I got the Internet to work at my desk. Today I spent almost 3 hours trying to get my computer hooked up to the office printer. You wouldn't believe how many printer drivers are NOT on the Internet. I finally had to settle for a version in Japanese...and just guessed my way through the installation. I couldn't read most of the Kanji, but somehow it all worked out. It was a daunting process, but let me tell you...it was totally worth it. I am no longer at the mercy of the office computers! Muahahaha!

One final piece of news: We haven't heard back from the Board of Education yet about Thailand, so we just decided to say "fuggit" and reserved our tickets today. So, it's fairly official...we'll be lying on a sunny Thai beach for Christmas. Maybe I should ask Santa for some sunscreen...

Anyhoo...I hope that's enough for the lot of ya. If not, feel free to email me any time. I've been pretty good about replying lately. Actually...let me rephrase that...please...FOR THE LOVE OF GOD...email me!!!

-Outcast in Oita