A Friendly Lot

Sunday, May 20, 2007

I have this habit of cleaning only under specific conditions. It must be a weekend and I have to start right after I get out of bed. I can usually get some pretty extensive cleaning done too which is a must since I don't clean any other time of the week!

So I was going through my routine today and finally getting the grit from between the floor boards! I went out to hang my laundry for the first time since October when I hear below me "Good morning!" I look down and there on the street are two people staring up at me. I say Hello and continue on with what I was doing. It's not abnormal for random people to just greet you in English and go on their way. It was a beautiful morning and they were probably just taking a walk.

Then they waved at me and in their hand was Largo High School's 2001 yearbook. I smiled and tried not to imagine where the hell they had gotten that book or why they even had it. I really should have put it together by now but...ok, it's about 9:30 in the morning and I'm still in my slightly revealing PJs. I didn't think I would be seeing anyone until 4 and when I say that I need to start cleaning as soon as I get out of bed, I mean before I put on normal clothes, brush my teeth, or even eat breakfast.

So yeah. I eventually got the hint that they wanted to talk so I threw on some clothes and went down stairs. It turns out that they are the couple that will be host family for the Largo Principal and his wife. They were worried about what they should be doing in preparation and they knew that I lived in the area so they stopped by. I think it was just luck that I walked out onto the balcony just then. Lord knows how long they were hanging out there!

We talked about the different foods that the principal might want to eat and how exactly he wants to take a shower. See in Japan, it's a big deal to clean yourself. You can't just lazily walk into the shower in the morning like so many Americans. Instead, you specially heat the bathtub in preparation for the evening's bath and it's more of a ritual than just something you do to make yourself clean.

They went home feeling a lot more relief after our simple conversation of
meat = good
Fermented smelly soy beans = bad

~~~~~~~~~~~

So remember that gorilla boy from way back when? Welp, I finally got my blind date with him. And it was just like every blind date known to men and women everywhere. It was awkward as hell and I'm just thankful that my friend Erinn and her boyfriend as well as another couple went with us. We had okonomiyaki which I have to admit I don't particularly like. And for the record, he doesn't look like a gorilla at all!!! But that still doesn't mean he was interesting or cute. I think we're all going to hang out some more for the new Pirates movie but after that...I don't see it going much further.

And I'm back where I started (^u^)v

Osaka and ATMs from hell

Friday, May 4, 2007

I went to Osaka this past week with Aozora. Long story short, I was a little less than impressed. The city was dirty and seemed needlessly large and busy. It probably would have been better to go during any other time other than Golden Week but...eh, what can I say.

I went to Universal Studios Japan where it thankfully rained all day. See, from what I hear, Universal is usually packed on a normal day but during GW you might as well not go because the lines will be anywhere from 2 to 3 hours long. And fast passes are $30 for 4 tickets! Ooo less than $10 each, that's a steal.

But because of the rain, we only had to wait 50 minutes at max which was quite nice. Incidently, all the rides that we went on were exactly like the ones back in Florida. However, most of the rides I went on in Osaka were new where as the ones in Florida are either super old or have been taken down by now. It was like walking into the past! I went on Terminator 3D the way it was way back when! (just in Japanese) I also went on E.T. and they actually said my name at the end! Not only did the one in Florida stop saying your name about 10 years ago, but they've also taken it down if I recall correctly! Other than that, it was nothing super special.

The next best thing was Spa World. It was a public bath (separated by genders) that was like a Love Hotel (from what people tell me. I don't know, I've never been to a Love Hotel...*bitter*) I really wanted to take pictures but since it was a bath....well, you understand.

They had Greek Gods poring water into a bath on top of a fish tank. They had hot baths, cold baths, saunas, and a cafe! As in, you would walk around naked, take a stop off at the cafe, get a drink and sit down at a table while soaking your feet in the pools underneath. There were about 10 baths all together and it was the most wonderful place I've been to yet. It's almost worth going back to Osaka for!

Almost

As for ATM hell... well....

Ok so we all know that Japanese ATMs are crap. They don't open until 10am and they close around 7 if your lucky. They close early on Fridays and weekends. On holidays, they are notoriously closed. In fact, it is a super common thing to be completely stranded during GW since it's an ENTIRE WEEK HOLIDAY!!!

Why the Japanese decide to close ATMs at all is completely beyond me. Maybe it's just to make me squirm.

Whatever, I've never gone on a vacation where I ran out of money but I guess I had to choose GW to start. Thank God for Visa!

Finally, Aozora and I wanted to kill some time in Osaka since we kind of ran out of things to do (running out of money will do that. And most places, even in a big city, don't actually take credit) so we decided to pop into an overpriced theater and check out Spider Man 3.

For anyone who hasn't seen this movie, I won't give any spoilers so read on!

There were parts of this movie that I'm sorry to say I ruined for some people in the theater because I started audibly giggling but at one point, I almost fell out of my chair and had to restrain my laughter or risk getting kicked out of the theater!

The joke, for anyone who knows it, was:

"I am a wise. Old. Dog. I have watched you two grow from baby horses into adult horse. I have watched you two grow from baby race horses into adult race horses. The best of race horses. I have watched you grow from baby friends into adult friends. The best of friends. You two became like two peas in a pod, two fish in the sea. You guys were like THIS! *tear* and I know that's hard for horses. Because I am a wise. Old. Dog."

Watch the movie and laugh. If you don't get the joke, get me seriously drunk and I might, might tell you. But remember, you asked for it!

 
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