thanks for the ride

Dragging my feet to my office from the Community Center where I gave my morning lesson, I thought that if I toppled over and fainted in this freakish heat, it wouldn't be any surprise. For one, I've been short on sleep these past few days for a million reasons, and it was taking it's toll on my body. Then of course, the summer heat hasn't been easing up at all, and since it was noon with the sun high in the sky, I felt like someone was trying to cook me for lunch! I had forgotten my sunglasses, so I was squinting like an idiot and I had also forgotten to put on sunscreen so my poor skin was taking a direct hit! Every step I took seemed like a miracle. I had this expression on that could kill ants. And right when I just about had enough of the torture, I heard 2 loud honks directly behind me!

I jumped and spun around, finding myself face-to-face with one of my students from the Community Center on his motorcycle. 
"Wanna ride?" He asked, and I swear he was glowing! Was that a halo over his head? Ah, ... shiny white helmet reflecting the sunlight. Whatever! Who cares?! I was sick of walking and complaining!
"Absolutely! Thanks!" I said, as  I let him take my bags and balance them in the front. (still not sure how he did it. )  He then got off his bike, and pulled out a shiny red helmet from the seat which swung open, and plopped it on my head. It was a beautiful helmet. I felt butterflies in my stomach. The color red does that to me. I was so excited!

He got back on his bike and told me to hop on to which I 'ooohed' and 'aheed' and clapped my hands over, but it all of a sudden hit me: Get on that.... thing? How on earth am I suppose to get on and stay on unless I hold on to my student for dear life? And holding onto my student for dear life was not an option! He's my good-looking, married, 50-some year old student who announced to the whole class when I first started teaching them that he would quit if I was ever to be replaced by another teacher, that I was the only teacher he wanted. Also, he took a picture of me on his cell-phone, saying he wanted to show his family and friends his new English teacher. He also came up to me at the end of one of the classes to show off his new jeans he just bought, explaining how well they fit him, etc. I hesitated as these thoughts rushed through my tired mind. 

For a few seconds.

Ah, fuck it!  I clumsily got on the back, doing an excellent job not to use him to stable my balance, and off we went! I was freaked out of my mind! Well, c'mon! It was my first time EVER on a motorcycle, and we were zooming between cars and trucks, and so on and so forth! AND I wasn't holding on to anything! My hands were balled up into fists, and I think I might have ground my teeth once or twice. But I must say, it was exhilarating! The wind against my skin, and the speed, and the possibility of being tossed off and losing a limb or two gave me this unfamiliar adrenaline that got me beaming from ear to ear like a freak. This dude, my student, just made my day! 

He got me to the station in record time, and with a 'If you ever need a ride again, hope I can lend you a hand', he was off. Totally, totally cool!

Anyway, check out my Zara jacket! Words fail me,... it's just adorable!

Date Night with Bunny

Like I've mentioned before, every Wednesday is what Boris and I like to call 'Date Night', where we simply spend the evening together going to various restaurants, or catch a film at the cinema. Last Date Night, we decided to drink our hearts our at Syzeria! Not my first choice, (or second, or third...) but it is without question a cheap place to drink and eat. And not everything on their menu is putrid like most of their pastas are!

It was fun!

dresses

Dress and belt from Zara.

 Dress from Forever 21, belt from Zara.

Dress from Free Mart.

Obon Holiday

My first day of work after a week off for Obon was sluggish and painful as expected. My liver has been working double time, my lungs were suffocating for lack of fresh air, and my eyes were puffy for lack of solid sleep. I was a mess and looked it! Such is the cost of true fun and partying!

Here's how I spent my Obon Holiday.

1.
I met up with dear Kenny in Shibuya to watch The Dark Knight Rises. I loved it!! I didn't love our seating arrangements though (front row, unfortunately), but it couldn't be helped, and the neck pain was worth the show! 
That evening, Sasa met up with me in Shibuya, and after a few Happy Hour drinks at the HUB, we unintentionally missed our last train while clubbing at Gas Panic. So we took a cab and killed the remaining hours till first train at Roppongi, drinking unhealthy proportions, dancing with random strangers, and trying to stay clear of creeps that want things you don't want to give them. It was a totally exhausting night out. Roppongi is losing it's luster fast! Good thing Sasa and I are close friends and kept things fun for each other. If it was just me, I would've seriously lost it on at least one of the guys who couldn't keep theirs to themselves! Ugh! Disgusting.

2.
I spent a lot of time working out at Tipness. There's something quite lovely about working out without a time-limit, without needing to be somewhere in 50 minutes, and just knowing that after you exhaust yourself, you can soak in the sento, get comfortable in the sauna, cream down in front of the vanity mirrors, and then collapse on the massage chairs and take a long nap.

3.
Boris and I made a fantastic discovery! There's a Jonathan's near our place that is open for 24 H, and we've decided that this will be our new hang out spot. So after spending a full lazy day at home, and wanting to still be lazy and do nothing, but just in a different environment, I stumble over to Jonathan's, order some small dish with the drink bar and a bottle of wine, and watch a few DVDs on my laptop.  Then, when I tire of DVDs, I switch to novel reading. This is VERY VERY GOOD!

4.
Of course, I hung around the bars surrounding my place, chatting with the bar tenders and their customers. Very nice, very relaxing, as always. Speaking of chatting, I made a new acquaintance: a certain Australian that I've seen around before, but never really got into a conversation with until just last weekend. He's a good looking guy, big framed, with colorful sleeves all the way to his wrists. There's a ring on his wedding finger, so he's married, but I wouldn't have guessed it if I were to judge by the way he looked at me, and turned to one of my friends who was standing next to him and said 'Damn! It's the woman I saw at Marix! She's hot!! Do you know her? Are you going to get her number? Cuz if you're not, I think I'll give it a shot.' I'm guessing he thought I couldn't speak or understand English because as soon as I ordered my wine in English, I noted that his eyes popped, and he made a slight 'oohps' face. Very cute. 
Anyhow, we talked for hours that night, and after I got to know him I decided that he wasn't half the creep I thought he would be. Perhaps we'll talk again. Dunno. Don't really care. He's fuckin' married, for beans sake! I'm tired of the taken hitting on me. Some single men, anywhere?

5.
I deep cleaned my apartment. Seriously, I'm the ONLY one who cleans up, and there are four of us living together! Do you know how much crap accumulates over the short period of 3 days when there are 2 boys and 2 girls living under one roof? A lot! I shouldn't have to be doing this. But living in filth gets to me, like it should to everyone else. I don't mind a mess here and there, or things not organized to a T. But dust, stray hair, mold, and other such shit is just gross. It's worth when it's someone else's crap you're cleaning up too! Ugh!

6.
With the remainder of my holiday, I contaminated my mind with Gossip Girl and Dexter, a glass of wine in one hand, and a cigg in the other.

All in all, it has been a very relaxing vacation and I enjoyed every second! I originally wanted to plan a trip or party with friends but I'm glad I didn't. I needed a lazy vacation and it did me well. I'm ready and well equipped for the next few weeks of torture!

Can't wait till the next one, which is actually coming up soon in September!

Life is good!

students... ugh

Every Friday from 6:00 to 7:00, I teach two junior high school students English conversation and a bit of grammar on the side, and damn, do they have a way of getting to me! One is a girl, an awkwardly lanky girl with a face you can't put a finger on with beady eyes, hair always pulled into two tight piggie-tails, and her shoulders are always slouched forward. The other is a boy, equally lanky but in a sporty way, tanned skin, a quiet face and hair that falls into his eyes. Sometimes I wonder if these two were sent from some strange planet to torture my mind!

During our lesson, I give them a question starter that we all use to create our own question to ask the class. After any given instruction on question, I ask if I was understood and the usual reply I get is a stony blank stare from the both of them. 

"Well, did you or didn't you understand?" I press, a smile plastered on my face.
"........."
I turn to the girl. "Shall I repeat the question? Did you understand?" At this point, I'm already tapping imginary fingers on the table in an impatient way, but I know that only 10 minutes have passed, and that I'd have to hang on quite a bit longer. 
"arghhacoeuihaoiu#$%&%!" is her usual reply. And so it begins.
"Okay, I need that in English. It's an English lesson, remember? English!" I press, still smiling, but I can just only imagine how fake it must look. 
"raahraahraaaahhhgh!" This time, it's her special grunt. I have taken this to mean that regardless of whether she understands or not she refuses to speak in English. I sigh heavily, and turn to the boy, who is blank in his expression and has his eyes fixed on some tiny object on the table, only visible to him. 
"And you? Did you understand?" I ask, and to which he nods. 
"Well then! Let's hear the answer!" He rolls his eyes twice, and mutters the answer snail-pace under his breath, putting on a very strong Japanese accent on purpose, eyes still fixed on the unseen. 
"Fantastic answer! Well done. Did you hear that?" I keep things upbeat the best I can, and turn to the girl who is now pulling on her remarkably stretchy cheeks, and rolling her eyes back, making her face look like... I don't know, a modern artist's piece gone wrong?
"No, no, no, no, noooooooo!" At lest this time, her answer I could understand! 

This goes on for about 20 minutes. The girl is playing with her face, skin, and hair, and everything else on the table while grunting and making sassy quick comments in Japanese, while the boy continues to stare and stare... and stare. Occasionally, he peeks up and smirks and giggles at the faces she's pulling, which really eggs her on. And I.... well, try my best not to do something I'll regret later.

The most annoying thing of all is that I know for a fact that both students are quite intelligent. Their homework is usually 85% correct, they've got good spelling and grammar, and sometimes they correctly answer my questions in Japanese, indicating that they understand completely. I guess they're just trying to make this hour the most tortuous they can. They do an excellent job.

When I first realized that I was to teach these two, I remember my mind freezing up. I've heard other teachers try teaching them and 'disastrous' would be an understatement to describe those lessons. And as I started teaching them myself, I quickly caught on that in cases like this, being more strict and angry didn't help anything. Teenagers are a brand of there own and each must be handled with great care and concern. I made it a point to laugh at the girl's strange faces, and sometimes ask the boy what he was so intent on looking at. Was it a ghost, a pea, some species that can be invisible? This did help things a little, but when I say 'a little', I mean, less then 5%.

Until the last second, they keep this up: face pulling, grunting, staring, laughing, giggling, talking in Japanese..almost everything besides English! It's a real pain. I'm not trying to ask for special advice, sympathy, or anything in particular. We all had our special ways of expressing ourselves when we were in our teens, and I understand that it's a phase. But I do need to vent somewhere, and vent I shall!

And the surprising thing is that the girl told her mom that she particularly enjoyed my lessons. Well, girl, thanks for not showing it during class! I need a beer! Argh! 

clean + zara

When it's as hot as it is today, going out of your way to break a sweat just doesn't cross one's mind. This is why my apartment has been piling up on the dust and stray hairs and other such things. Not necessarily because of neglect to clean, but more like the result of one trying to NOT dehydrate and melt into a puddle because of too much energy spent scrubbing and wiping. 

But there is a limit to how much filth and mess I can tolerate, and I decided to not wait until I reach that limit as it's quite a forgiving one. After a sweaty work out (Tipness is closed due to Obon) I pulled out the rags and the cleaners and spent the rest of my morning scrubbing and cleaning away! Yes, it was a big operation, and thanks to the heat, I had sweat pouring down my face. But after all was said and done, I feel great and I'm glad I did it. Nothing beats a tidy, clean house. 

Anyhow, check out this awesome tunic I bought at Zara!! Wooohooo!

obon

I've been counting the days for my Obon Holiday, and now that it's finally here I am in complete bliss! I painted my nails, I sorted and picked out holiday clothes, and I've been paying my respects to the bars I love! So far, I must say that I've been having a lovely start to Obon, and I can see that things will be picking up fast! I'll make sure it does.

The only two things that I think are less than perfect are that Boris has work during my days off, and that I'm a little short on cash. Oh, and also that I feel like I'm stepping into some kind of torture-by-heat-and-humidity-machine each time I step out the door! Really, this heat has got to give us a breather soon! What is it trying to do, kill everyone? Ugh!

Anyway, check out my awesome new 'thing' from Zara!! LOVE IT!