tabetai

Eiko says...

Thanks to the weather dropping a few degrees these past few days, my appetite has decided to grace me with its presence again. I'm swinging towards sandwiches and mushroom soup these days. I don't think I have to mention beer. Beer is always welcome, rain or shine, summer, autumn, winter and spring!

Speaking of which, I just had one on my way back from work on the train. You do get the stares from all around, especially from the businessmen who ought to be drinking their stress away, but who don't have any beers in their hands. I guess when they see a young girl in front of them chugging down a can of beer with relish makes them feel a bit ... strange.

Food talk aside, work has been good for me these days. I'm learning a lot about what it means to be an English teacher. It's definitely not just about knowing your grammar and being able to spout off all you know about the topic of discussion, although very important. It's being able to know when to stay on one lesson and repeat it several times instead of just moving on to the next lesson. It's being able to detect when the student needs extra practice and drill work, or when the lesson is too easy and it's time to move on. It's being able to manage group lessons from 10 to 20 with a variety of levels mixed in there in a calm, patient way. Speaking clearly. Listening. Asking questions. Talking less. Using body language. Being intuitive. Being considerate. Being polite. And so much more!

Anybody with suggestions and pointers for English teaching? Share!

working again

Eiko says...

There's nothing like your first day at work after summer holiday. The transition from play mode to work mode isn't always the easiest thing, especially if you're a bit of an idiot like me, and drank the night before. I think I had one drink too many of whiskey, ensuring that my first day of work would be accompanied by an annoying hang over.

Finding myself at work feeling quite gross and tired, I made an impromptu decision to help myself through the rest of the week with a shopping spree. I just got paid, and Zara had their latest assortment on display. I'm thinking wicked pumps and black, classy pants to match. Also, a new bag.

more stuff

Eiko says...

I found this very thin fabriced dress shirt and figured it would be convenient to have at the office, so I bought myself one. As I'm sure you've guessed, it's Zara. Great cut, easy to match up with other items of clothing, and very suzushii. What's not to like, eh?



Ken and I hung out last night over these! An amazing combination of crackers, smoked salmon, cheese and black pepper! The only missing ingredient to perfection was a chilled chardonnay to go with it. Great job, Ken.

holiday begin

Eiko says...

1:26am, tipsy, relaxed, happy, relieved that I was able to make the last train home, amused that I had to break into my own house due to all the keys to my apartment being lost by idiots, loving friends, listening to 'More Than Words' by Extreme, and am beginning a 9-day payed-holiday.

Life is a truly beautiful thing. Although full of disappointments, there are flickers of beauty that far out-shine, and at this moment, I can't help but reflect on those past and present moments of beauty and feel like the luckiest alive on the planet.

Let the fun begin!

Life is damn good!

es sick

Eiko says...

Four days and counting till my summer vacation, and I can hardly wait! Boris will be coming down to spend a few days with me, and we've got very wicked things planned this time around. So, as long as I don't have a heat stroke, collapse and die, I should be having the time of my life in just a few days! I think I can manage to hold myself together until then. Besides, work isn't all that difficult. I enjoy English teaching overall, and the best part is that our office keeps the cooling system running at a healthy level. We contribute to the energy saving in other ways like turning the lights off during the day etc. as opposed to torturing ourselves by turning our English school into a sauna. People aren't paying us to sweat and lose water weight. They pay us to study and to become geeky and successful!

Anyway, that's probably a big part of the reason why I'm still functioning. Although, there's something else that's been eating away at me little by little which has been pushing me to my limit! And not in a good way, either!

It has come to my attention that a great deal of neglect (NOT, mind you, on my part) of cleaning after one's self has been accumulating over sometime around the kitchen and dining room area of my flat. Whenever I have time to notice, I have been making an effort to clean up the mess and left-out food that ppl tend to leave out before or after an understandably long day at work. Recently though, I haven't been able to clean up more than just after myself, and that has been manifesting itself in the sick form of FLEAS! Furious, I dedicated a day-off to scrubbing every inch of my flat, but there are still fleas flying around (although noticeably less than before). It's just sick! I'm not talking about 5 or 7 fleas happily announcing their presence around the garbage bin and the kitchen sink drain. I'm talking about fleas in the bathroom, in the bedrooms, in the kitchen and dinning room area, in the hallways and closets! In these temperatures that we're all experiencing right now, the consequences of leaving any kind of food out even just over night, (or less) is disastrous! I feel like murder!

I finished venting. I'm going to focus on the awesome pairs of shoes I recently purchased and how comfortable they were walking in today. I'm going to start breathing now.

Black nail polish ftw!
It's actually not black. It's deep purple. I just painted on four coats of polish, and you can hardly tell it's purple unless in sunlight. I kinda like that! It's more classy!

perfect sunday

Eiko says...

I was in very high spirits ever since last night after exerting myself with a mid-night workout, that I decided to treat myself to a hair cut. I'm actually trying to grow my hair out, but I've got hair enough for 3, and it was getting to be far too heavy for this year's summer. So I asked my barber to just layer and thin my hair out for me without changing the length. She did a decent enough job, and I was generally happy with her work.
I ended my day with a bit of shopping at my all-time-favorite shopping place--Nishiarai Ario. I think I made some pretty good purchases today that I'm flipping over as of now. All around, today was nothing short of perfect!

The new hair.
My barber curled my hair a little at the end, so the length of my hair is actually around 10cm or so longer than shoulder length.
I briefly considered bangs, but that thought was almost instantly disposed of by me. It's just way too hot for bangs and they also require far too much work to keep them looking decent.


The shopping.
I LOVE Randa! When it comes to shoes, the first place that comes to mind for shopping is this shoe store. They've got awesome shoes that are trendy, but also original and they offer excellent quality. Their foot wear is generally comfortable as well--a huge plus in my books. You have no idea how excited I was when I found out that they were doing a massive clearance sale! The majority of the shoes were over 50% off! Made my day!



And I saw this tunic and fell in love... so I bought it.




Tadaaimaaa~!
Man! I'm so proud of myself for walking in 'this heat' in heals with all of that stuff for 4 hours without collapsing somewhere and passing out! I mean, just breathing normally without sweating buckets is next to impossible these days.


Dinner.
I made a sea-food salad after a long day out, and washed it all down with beer! Best way EVER to end a day.

dinner these days

Eiko says...

Keep it to yourself if that doesn't look appetizing to you! A cold beer and a crisp, leafy salad is exactly what I want every night for dinner!! It's simple, satisfying, delicious and refreshing!




After work, I went out with my Wednesday morning students for 暑気払い！Was great fun drinking with them, and also chatting with them outside of the classroom. 　ヤッパ日本の夏は飲まないとダメ！！Especially this summer, with all the energy conserving going on, you have to make a conscious effort to keep your spirits high and your mind off of the heat and the humidity. And what better way than to bond over a few drinks at an Izakaya or a bar with friends?

need new shades

Eiko says...

Looking forward to...

-autumn
-going to Disney Sea for summer vaca with Boris and friends
-drinking cold beer when I get home from work
-pay day
-Friday night


I love earthy colors and simple cuts. The green dress--an early spring purchase-- is from Uniqlo and the fact that it's just so simple and no-nonsense appeals to me.


And I need a new pair of sunglasses. These ones have the tendency to slip off my nose, defeating the whole purpose of shading my eyes from the piercing rays of the sun, not to mention shielding everyone's eyes from how my face can look when I'm too lazy to wear make-up. New shades that 'stick' are at the top of my shopping list.


Yep. Shades are an absolute must-have! Keeps you from looking like a squinting dork too--a regular sight these bright sunny days! FTW!

beer ftw

Eiko says...

As unhealthy as I know this is, the only thing I can manage to stomach in this gross weather is ice-cream and beer. Just to ease my conscious I throw in a leafy salad at the end of the day (to eat with my beer) to give me the impression that I'm eating tons of vegetables and balancing things out. Of course, I know full well that lettuce isn't all that high in nutrition. But I like salads, and as of this summer the only things that will be making it past my throat and stomach are things that I like or feel like eating. The problem seems to be that the list of 'foods I like' is limited to 3: ice-cream, beer, and salad.

Wait! Make that 4. I can't make it through a day without coffee!

I just can't seem to help not eating! This heat and humidity is killing my appetite! Even if my brain still remembers how delicious pasta is and how satisfying sushi can be, when I'm face to face with food, I just can't bring myself to eat. The sensation of hunger is fast becoming a mere memory to me.

I'm not intentionally torturing myself. I simply don't have an appetite and I'm not doing anything special about it. If I don't feel like eating, I won't eat. I am concerned though that I'll pass out during an English lesson, or while I'm on my way to work, or just silently die in my sleep for lack of nutrition and energy. Dehydration may even do the trick, given that the majority of liquids I take consists of alcoholic and caffeinated beverages. I'm not cool with that.

The solution seems to be fairly simple.

a. drink more water
b. eat more food
c. stop being an idiot about all this

But since I love eating so much, the idea of forcing food and drink down when it's not welcome or when I don't feel up to eating it, is just down right unattractive to me.

We'll see what happens.

Zara tunic

Eiko says...

It's fucking hot! In this kind of hot, muggy weather the only thing I am capable of doing properly is to spread myself flat on my bed, legs and arms sprawled in all directions, and just focus on breathing. Everything else I do is being accomplished with 20% less energy and effort because simply staying alive in this freakish weather takes so much more of everything out of me.

One of the few joys of summer for me, other than eating ice-cream and drinking cold beer at the end of a work day, is shopping. I was actually going to post these pictures in my last post, but I was running short on time and decided to just spread the photos out in several posts.

This tunic is once again from Zara. Love the breezy, summery look. The material is very light and comfortable. The cut is great for when let's say you're invited to a drinking party or a barbecue and you're planning on doing a bit of binging. People won't be able to notice your growing tummy. It's just awesome!!

more Zara shopping

Eiko says...

I did more shopping at Zara!! I couldn't help myself. I just knew I'd be regretting it if I hadn't bought these items before the sales were out, and I've been told by multiple people, multiple times to not do things one may regret in the future.

I LOVE summer sales!!

This blue, ...thing has had me fixed on buying it for the longest time, and now it's mine!! The material is amazingly comfortable and I love the fact that it's loose. Perfect for the freakish temperatures these days.



The short white vest I'm wearing over everything is not Zara, but the summer sales has caught up with all the clothes stores around, and when I splurge, I really splurge!
I've got an unspoken 'no-lace' rule, but I guess this would be the exception to that. It worked well with the blue thingie, and when something works, you're allowed to fuck the rules.