Hope everyone had an amazing Halloween! I'm not gonna lie, I look damn hot in this picture and I love the costume the girl next to me is wearing. We look like we're ready to fight bad guys. Hell fucking yeah. No one can defeat Pink Kiss Power! lol.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8302476.stm

Woah, indoor graveyards operated by robotic arms and computers??? I've never seen one of these places (and known it) so now I'm REALLY CURIOUS. It sucks you have to have a swipe card to get inside. I'd really like to see what the interior of one of these places looks like, considering I love strolling through graveyards and I've never been to one like this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he2G8FbqGtc

Haha, this video totally made me go, "Wtf?" When I saw it at Izakaya last night. Seriously. The Japan can be so weird sometimes. Conor and I were trying to have a conversation while we were watching it and we couldn't stop laughing. lol.

Part I of my Wonderful Day Story :)( Read more... )

Blah, I can’t fit all of this into one entry. I’ll continue with part II tomorrow but I may be going into Tokyo tomorrow evening to kick it with Nic and Brenna and Co. so I don’t know…
I wish my camera wasn't broken ::sighs:: I could have gotten some great pictures yesterday! I was actually thinking about taking out my GOOD camera but then I discovered that somehow, the battery is missing! I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how the hell the battery got lost. It's either in my camera or in the charger and it's difficult to take it out of both of those things. I'm flabbergasted that my battery AND my iPod vanished without a trace. Seriously, both of those things went into my suit cases and never came out...
Today was a good day. We went to dinner with our boss and filled out immigration papers. We go to take care of visa shit bright and early Wed morning. Ugh. I really don’t want to meet Hiroko-san at the station at fucking 6:30 in the morning but it has to be done.

Signing off until next time…

Man, this week has flown by. It's already Friday! Sweet Jesus! I've been busting my ass during the day looking for jobs and I've been going out and partying at night. Whoops. Heh. I need to cut the partying out, however, because I need to pinch pennies for Korea.
Speaking of Korea, it looks like we're going to get hired. I had to contact about 15 million different schools but we finally landed one school that seems like they want us. The first school I talked to said they'd hire us. The 2nd school said they could hire me but they couldn't hire Conor and me together. The 3rd school flat out told Conor no because the school he worked at before gave him a bad reference XD Guess I'm not the only one that has to check, "Do not contact this employer". That was the school that would have paid the most money, however, so that was kind of disappointing ;p The school we're talking to now says they'll pay me $3,300, which is $300 less than what I wanted but oh well, it's $3,000 more dollars than my unemployed ass would be making here. heh.
I had an interview for a temp position at the Field Museum but I fucked that up. They wanted me to wear dress shoes and stand all day and I told them I couldn't because of my bad foot. Therefore, they didn't bother to call me back ::grumbles:: I also fucked up a phone interview for a Skype English teaching job because I told the guy that I may be moving to Asia in December and a lot is up in the air. Every time I get a job interview I get freaked out thinking about starting a new job. I think about all the jobs I've failed at in the past and I get really nervous. It's getting to be a real problem. I can't help but be afraid that I'm going to fail at everything I do because of the way I was treated at my last job and the way I've been treated at so many others. Gods, if I could just spin fire that would be perfect.
Oh yeah, speaking of spinning fire, I figured out spiral hand wraps, but that's totally off topic XD I've been working on that one for a while. Still working on finger spins with the fans and pissing Gio off when I drop them ;p I'm sorry, but it's cold as a witch's ass outside and I'm not going to fucking go practice my fans outside, K.
My Week Wasting Money and Trying to Find Ways to Make More( Read more... )
Tomorrow I have to wake up at the ass crack of dawn and go to the police station to have a criminal background check run on myself. Fuuuuuuuuuuun. Gods, cops freak me out. I don't wanna go ::cries::
I'll let you know if I'm going to Korea for sure. I'll probably know by the end of the weekend or the beginning of next week. I don't have any plans for this weekend except for helping Fire Tribe clean up Shorty's place for winter spinning. Even though it looks like I won't be attending, I still wanna be part of the community for as long as I can.
Today I cried because I don't want to leave everything I have here. But the fact of the matter is there are no jobs and I need money. I can't wait around and spend all my money waiting for something to happen. I have to go where the money is...that's just the wise thing to do.
Plus, there is a lot on the other side of the world that's awaiting me. There are so many people that I've missed so much that I'll be spending time with over the next year and a half if this goes down...Conor, Brenna, Micah, the Uwazumis and Carole and my sister may even come visit. Hell, Gio even said he may come visit, which would be crazy! Lol. It'll be a good thing. Gio and everyone in Fire Tribe said that I shouldn't be sad about leaving because everyone will be here waiting to love me again when I come back. That sounds so great. I think I probably will come back to Chicago...that is...if Conor and I don't decide to run away and do something else... with the way we are together, I could see us planning another adventure and getting lost out there together if things go well. I'm thinking I'd like to hit Southeast Asia and teach...but we'll see what happens after a year. I think I'm going to try to get my teaching certificate online while I'm gone. Then I'll be qualified to teach when I get home. I think I want to be a teacher... it's the only thing I can think of that I'm good at that makes money ^^
Man, what a crazy time. I want everything to be wonderful. There's just so much I want to do on both sides of the world and so many people I love here and there. I'm happy I'm taking one of those people I love from this side with me. Conor will be that connection I need to both sides.

That change I’ve been talking about…I think it’s about to happen. The funny thing is, I’m at a complete loss of words this time.

For once, I have nothing to say about what’s about to happen. I’m just going to shut up and let it happen.

Ho hum. Today was much better, although my uterus still aches. My order from hell returned to haunt me today, but luckily, the lady was super, super nice and we got the whole thing straightened out. I apologized for all the mistakes yesterday. I told her that I was in a lot of pain and that I couldn't think straight. I'm happy I was working with her even though things were a big mess for a while.
One thing I've noticed at work is that I really connect with the customers more than my co-workers. I usually end of laughing and talking with the customers and a lot of them ask me what my name is and thank me personally for helping them. It's nice when someone sincerely thanks you for your help, even though most of my customers are really nice, friendly, open minded and non problematic. Sometimes I get frustrated with myself when a customer doesn't speak English very well but I try to remember what it was like when I was the one who the clerk couldn't understand. I really enjoy working with customers, I just hate doing what I'm doing when I'm working with customers.

Work, people, places, life-- classic Sarah style deep thoughts and ramblings about reality( Read more... )
Well, Gio is on a weird sleep schedule. He wakes up at 5 AM or so and goes to bed at 5 PM...it's given me the chance to live like I'm single again. Last night I did some writing and studied Chinese. I started a neat study of comparing the meanings of Chinese and Japanese characters. I figure it will help me with my Japanese reading and writing as well...two areas that are very much lacking in my full comprehension of the language. I can understand what I hear and carry on a conversation but I can't read very well and I definitely can't write very well.
I also worked on my cover letter for the pair teaching job Conor and I are applying for in Nagoya. I'd like to go back to Nagoya because my family is there, pay is good and the apartment deal is pretty sweet. The job sounds hilarious because Conor and I would be teaching children as a team. For those of you who know us, you understand how hilarious this prospect is. lol. I think it'd be a lot of fun to plan lessons with him and run a class with him. We'd have a lot of fun and since we're both super silly, we'd probably end up having a ridiculous time. I'm taking my time crafting this letter, which is strange because I usually can write a cover letter in a half hour without a problem. I guess I really want it to look good...
There's another job that could have if I want it here in Chicago. I really want to travel with Conor but if something happens and plans fall through, this job would be awesome. I currently volunteer at the Chinese Mutual Aid Association. I help out with the children's program, and the woman who runs the program has started training me to be her successor. If I'm still here in a year, I will become head of the program, which sounds like something I would really enjoy. I have to study Chinese really hard so I can talk to the parents of the children who are in the program. Chinese is a fun language to study. I didn't think it would be until I started it. It's pretty easy so far. The reading isn't too different from Japanese and I've heard learning a 3rd language is easier than learning a 2nd. I've found this to be true...minus my experience taking Arabic because my teacher was awful. If I had taken Arabic with a different teacher I think things would have been different. I'm still pissed I only know how to say "How are you", "Beans" and "Mother Fucker" and a few other random words and phrases. That's all the Arabic I learned in Dubai!
Finally, there is a job on the horizon that I'm interested in. My friend, Elizabeth, told her buddy I'm looking for a new job so he offered to help me get a job at the handicapped center where he works. I'm not sure what it entails but it does involve working with the mentally retarded, which I think would be a great learning experience. We'll see what happens with that one.
Honestly, I just want to go back to Japan ::sighs:: I was staring into the embers of my cigarette last night and I zoned out, melted into the fire and became one with it. At that moment I felt that I must be patient but I will go back to Japan soon. I just have to wait for the right time and job to come my way. I felt a little dizzy after my first real fire ritual in years but confident that with the proper amount of motivation and concentration, I will be living my dream again.

Here's hoping.

Oh yeah, and my 4 year anniversry with Gio is Friday. Wow. It hasn't been consistant but it's still been 4 years since we got together. Crazy. I love that silly, bald boy <3 I want him to take me to dinner and to see Choke. That's all I want for our 4 year. I just want to go on a date and enjoy his company. Let's hope my problem ::coughs:: will be cleared up by Friday night!

Ok, time to shower and work on that letter. I should practice fire fans or poi but I'm fucking lazy. And I wonder why I'm not getting any better...heh.

I walked outside this morning to find a place to read in front of our house and found a really awesome yard sale. I was going through a stack of CD's when one of the potential customers said, "This thing is awesome! I'd use it as a bar or something. What is it?" I turned around and sitting in behind me was a large, ancestor shrine. I couldn't believe it.
"That's an ancestor shrine," I said. I turned to the guy holding the yard sale and asked, "How much is it?"
"$20." He said.
I was shocked. Those boxes are fucking expensive in Asia, especially a nice one like this one.
"Where did you get it?"
"At an antique trade show in California." I was immediately sold on it. I'm not sure how old it is. It doesn't look very old but some parts of the design make me think it may have been custom made. But at any rate, it's in good condition and was a damn good deal. I've been thinking Kamisama, my little Japanese god that I bought for steal of a price at an antique store in Japan, needed a home for a while. He's super old and made out of clay. All the Japanese people who have seen him said he looks like he may have been in an actual shrine at one time. I thought he was too because I've visited a lot of shrines and seen a lot of different kinds of deities and styles of statues enshrined. needs a shrine but I had no idea what to enshrine him in so I guess he manifested a house for himself. lol.
I have an eye for antiques and collectible from working at the Antique Mall and spending a lot of time with my great grandmother growing up, who had tons of treasures mixed in with junk laying around her house. Actually, I got a vintage rhinestone necklace for $5 or $10 at another Logan Square yard sale. I could easily get $50 for it if I wanted to resale it. Heh, something you guys may not know about me is that I do collect vintage and antique stuff. I have quite a collection that I could sell if I ever needed the money. But I'd actually like to open a restaurant or bar someday and use it all as decorations.

There was a huge ordeal involved in buying the shrine, but when that was all over, victory was mine! This is what it looks like.


The whole set up. There's a geisha picture that matches the one on top (she's fall themed. I think the other one I have is winter. I don't have spring or summer because some ass hole customer at the antique mall bought those two before I could purchase them) propped against the side of the shrine but you can't see her.
I love the Japanese dolls in the front. The big one came from the Antique Mall. She's probably not worth much of anything since I saw tons of dolls like her in Japan for about $20. But she's beautiful and if I take good care of her, her value will increase. Then there's my antique Japanese doll. My friend, Midori, gave her to me when I left Japan. She used to belong to Midori's grandmother. The box she's standing on can turn into a glass case, but I broke one of the poles that holds the glass in place so I can't use it anymore ^^ That REALLY decreased the value but she's probably still worth something.
I'm pretty sure this box is Japanese because I saw things like this in Japan all the time but I think Chinese people also use these boxes to worship their ancestors as well. However, there are crysanthemums on the brass workings,which makes me think it's Japanese and not Chinese.

Inside the Shrine( Read more... )

I'll tell you about he ordeal I went through to buy the damn box later. I need to go to work and get my laundry quarters that I left in my locker ^^ I need to wash my stupid uniforms. I have more stories to tell but I'll tell them later. I've been busy ^^

Gods, I can't wait to go back to Japan! Waaaaaaaaah! I hope I get that job!!!