Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve blogged but I get into
phases of not wanting to type long entries, and that often influences my
blogging and e-mail responding… Anyway.
Second trimester has started. We have a new schedule, which
now leaves me dreading Mondays because it is not only back to back classes with
little room for prep time after the weekend (there is also little prep time on
Fridays), it has my two least favorite classes back to back. Oh, well. They've
gotten better behaved, so there’s that.
Almost as immediately as it had set in, the horrendous
summer that I never talked about at this point has left us, before September
even started. Fall has struck, albeit fairly slowly. Once in a while, like
today, it’s a little warmer, but nothing like July and August. I can now leave
my window open to let the fresh air in, and I need to wear actual pajamas to
bed and maybe even cover up with the top sheet. It even gets cold enough that I
need to use the fleece blanket sometimes! It’s glorious, and only September!
Being from Southern California, I’m getting an early winter!! Which has yet to
come, and I’ll want more than a top sheet and fleece blanket I keep being told.
I look forward to it, though.
As for general updates, I have purchased a PS3 and a TV,
which have of course done a number on how I spend my evenings and weekends.
That all being said, I bought an HDMI cable and can connect my laptop to my TV,
which means I can sit at the desk and work on a large screen when I draw and paint.
That comes in handy because during summer training, a fellow AET roped me and
another into a comic tournament through Deviant Art, which has led to many,
many hours sat at my desk scribbling away furiously once I’m off work. The
deadline is fast approaching but I think I’ll be alright.
I also purchased plane tickets for Okinawa in November to
visit my best friend for an early Thanksgiving, and plane tickets for
California for Christmas with the family. Interestingly, the tickets to Okinawa
were half the price of the international tickets. Also, I love being able to
pay for things through the convenience store. There is rarely a fee for it, and
it gives you a 48 hour window typically. Another thing that is done here is
Cash on Delivery, which is absolutely fantastic considering the lack of credit
cards and online banking. They exist, but they are not the norm.
Another thing that is not the norm in my neck of the woods
is night life. If you don’t have a car and a designated driver, you pretty much
can’t go out drinking past 11. The busses stop at 9:30, and the trains at
11:30. There is also a zero tolerance for drinking and driving, and that
includes riding a bike. This means you can’t drink any alcohol and expect to do
anything but walk home from the watering hole. When said watering hole is 4
miles away from your home, you’re rather limited. This is yet another reason I
don’t go out on weekends, and instead opted to buy a PS3. ;D
With the departure of summer means that flu season will be
upon us soon. I’m not worried normally but here is a whole different can of
worms with regards to prevention. First of all, in having frequently occupied a
bathroom at the same time as other women, I can safely report that the majority
of them do not wash their hands most of the time. I’ve been told that this is
because they believe that washing your hands too much strips your hands of
beneficial bacteria. While that may be true, it also prevents you for
slathering your coochie germs all over the place. Apparently a lot of the men
forgo this, as well. What’s more, in spite of nearly everyone wearing medical
masks year-round, it seems to be the norm to open the windows and let in fresh
air and fresh germs during the dead of winter (which can reach 20°F), so that
the kids don’t breathe in the “old” germs. I’ll be investing in some moisturizing hand
sanitizer before long.
Other AETs and I have also noticed a distinct lack of actual
cleanliness around here, with most everything simply being symbolically cleaned. Rags used for the daily cleanings are
frequently not wet, and are almost never washed, leading to simply pushing dirt
and germs around every day. Amazingly they can manage to sweep every day and
there will still be dust bunnies everywhere. They also still prefer cleaning
the floor with a filthy rag and the all-fours method, instead of joining the
modern times and using mops or even cheap-ass dry mops. And good luck finding
cleanser anywhere, even when you want to clean the bathrooms, which reek of
urine and other foul odors on account of the prevalence of squat-pots, which
somehow manage to smell worse sometimes than Port-O-Potties. Bathrooms of
school gyms tend to be the worst kept thus far as I’ve seen.
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