12.19.2003

Hey kids, been a long time since I rapped at ya last. The past three weeks I've been sick, sick, and sick. Just when I thought that I was getting better this last week, I appear to have relapsed a second time and gotten the exact same upper respiratory thing that I spend the last couple weeks fighting off. The odd thing is that I really have no explanation for why I've gotten sick. You'd think that the antibodies I've spent the last couple weeks building up would prevent me from suffering from the EXACT SAME SICKNESS, but oh well. On a positive note, this experience has taught me where I should go to see a doctor, and how to go about the standard inpatient procedures. I'm just glad I didn't screw up when I peed in the cup that they gave me in the beginning. I can just imagine the looks of horror that I would have generated had they not been asking for a urine sample.

I think I managed to overdose a little on painkillers today, I probably wouldn't have noticed if I had lost a limb this morning. Remind me not to mix the Tylenol gelcaps with the little white pills the doctor gave me again. Or maybe I should do it more often. Whatever.

I managed to send out Christmas notes for the first time ever this year, I'm actually kind of proud. With any luck this will bank up some goodwill for me when I proceed to forget everyone's birthdays throughout the next year.

So today is the last day of classes for all of my junior high kids, hooray for them. Since Wednesday I've finished my all of my teaching for the year, and now I'm just sitting around being sick at the office. Better to be sick here in a heated office where I don't have to move at all, than compared to an unheated school where I end walking around and coughing on everything.

I will be the only foreigner in town for the next couple weeks, as everyone else in town is going abroad to spend their hard earned salaries. With my sole foreigner influence, I intend to rule this town of 30,000 with an iron fist while they are away. Or maybe with a limp wrist. Or maybe I'll just play video games and eat mikan. We'll see.

12.3.2003

Today I decided to try out a korroke bread roll from local bakery at my train station. A quality East meets West dish, with fried, breaded mashed potato wrapped in a roll. All fine and good until I hit the ketchup. In bread? Ugh. And then there are the curry donuts. And the rather disturbing obsession with mayonnaise in just about any edible food. All this has taught me the lesson to buy things based on name, and not looks. Now that it's Christmas time, you know what that means. That's right, the shrimp nuggets are back at Mcdonald's for a limited time only! Tastes great with a mayo covered teriyaki burger. Throw some seaweed on the fries and you've got yourself a meal.

So I went up to Tokyo last weekend to visit Mr. Adil, and we had a pretty good time, even though he was feeling a little ill. Nonetheless, we got a lot of shopping done at various areas, and a little drinking in gaijin packed Roppongi. On Saturday we met up with an old friend who studied abroad at the U of I, and went out to a Toyota car show. Nothing beats sitting around in cars that I can't afford, and getting killed multiple times in driving simulators. Remind me never to step into an SUV with Adil.

First time at Disney Sea too! A pretty cool place, it would have been more fun if it weren't for the extremely cold windy weather. As it was, we got a couple rides in, and some shopping done.

Speaking of shopping, I should be getting a dvd home theater system that I bought in Akihabara (a big electronics district in Tokyo) today, so now I can stop listening to music and movies on the only one 2-watt speaker that I currently have working in my apartment. Of course, that used up the rest of the money that I have for this month, so we'll see if Tom can live for 3 weeks on 30,000 yen. Mmmmm cup ramen and bread.

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