To Work or Not to Work

That is the question... I am not exactly sure of the details but tomorrow is supposed to be my first day back at Nova. However, I received a phone call and was informed that the company was offering another option. Option #1, start working, receive a regular salary, be on call to go to whatever branch they tell you to go to that day, and only get 3-4 days off for the holidays. Not a bad deal and the salary is 252,000 yen (yes, that is right, I am making 6 figures right out of college). Option #2 and the one that seems mighty appealing at the moment. Take a cash advance not to work until January 10th in the amount of 150,000 yen. Take as much vacation time as I wish, continue to do privates, and have fun for another month. Not sure which option I am going to choose yet but like I said before, I am leaning towards option number 2.

I know it sounds too good to be true but it makes sense from an economic standpoint, especially if they are unsure if they will have enough students. They save a 100,000 yen a month if you were just going to go in to work and sit around. Either way, I will feel a hundred times better after I get some money in my bank account.

In other news, no girlfriend. Joel and I are looking for an apartment and I will probably go check out a place Friday. Privates are probably up to 10 solid a week now which is good. Not too much else is going on. I am writing this pretty late because I am awake and have nothing else to do. It is about 1 am so this probably seems very chaotic. Had a little too much to drink the other night - Big K is on my mind thanks to Joel. But, that is a whole other story. Hope every one is doing great. I have actually been dreaming lately which is a great sign that I am getting enough sleep. Three days in a row I dreamt and I don't remember the last time that happened... Remember, smile!!

Thanksgiving Din Din

Last night, Joel and I made some Thanksgiving dinner since we both have private lessons today. Our good friend Momo came over to join us. Just so you know, we are headed to Momo's place for New Years in Hiroshima. Anyway, we had a very nice dinner. It was quite possibly the most I have eaten since I have been in Japan. For our Thanksgiving we had chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, a fruit cup, some vegetables, and cream puffs for desert.



Sadly, we couldn't find pie or cake anywhere. I was a little bit worried about Joel's potatoes at first because I didn't think he was going to add any butter or milk. He was all ready just to mash them, throw in the garlic and chives and call it good. But, they ended up turning out great. Joel and I ended up laying on the floor afterwards because our stomachs were so full. Needless to say, the one thing that was missing, besides family of course, was a football game.



After dinner we headed to the local convenience store to buy our bus tickets to Hiroshima only to find out that they don't go on sale for another week. So, next week, Momo is going to come over and cook us something to eat and afterwards we'll go and get our tickets.

I got a call from Nova yesterday, I start working on the 29th of November. There was a possibility I would start today but it was delayed due to rent issues. I am still going to try and keep some privates on top of working at Nova to make some extra cash on the side.

Tuesday night, Joel dragged me along to the bar with people from his old branch. We ended up going to a bar. The one thing I don't like about Japanese dining is that the bill is on one tab. So, they split everything no matter what. If you have one drink or ten drinks, you still pay the same amount. I knew it was going to happen and even said something to Joel about it before. It ended up costing me around $24 for five or six drinks, which should have only been $14 or $17. Needless to say, I wasn't too happy but it was still a good time.

Oh, you thought the story was over... So, we are leaving, taking our time saying our goodbyes. It's around 11:30 pm so we head to the train station. Sure enough, we missed the last train. First time that has happened, but it probably won't be the last. We ended up going to a different bar to meet up with everyone again. Stayed up till 5:30 am to catch the first train. Grabbed some McDonalds before going to bed... I have to admit, it was quite possibly some of the best Micky D's I have had. Finally fell asleep around 6:30 am. Oh what a night...

More Apologies

I spoke with my mother this morning on the phone. Sure enough, I caught hell for not updating the blog in a while. My apologies once again. Things have gotten a bit busier as of late. I am up to about 10 private lessons now each week, many of which I must prepare for. Saturday, I started the day around 9:45 am with a lesson and did not get home until ten or so after three more lessons and seeing a friend. Sunday, I awoke at 9:40, took a shower and left the house around 9:52, had a lesson at 10:30, one at 12:30, another at two o'clock, voice until six, studied for a bit, got home around 7, at dinner, and left for another lesson from nine to ten. So, my apologies for not being able to update the blog.

So, what's new... Went to a Nova meeting on Saturday. The company that took over said they wanted to rehire all Nova employees, without any back pay of course, and that those of interested should fill out an application. Of course, Joel and I completed ours and they informed us that we should get a call by Wednesday. Wednesday came and went, no call... Thursday came and went, no call. Finally, on Friday (and thank god), I got a call from Nova (of course, Joel did as well). I knew the women on the other end of the line as she was my old boss. Two branches in our area are expected to open within the near future so, it looks like Joel and I will have a job. Also, they are offering an advance of $500 to help out with the current situation. I sure will be excited when I get that money. Even after I start working for Nova again, I plan on doing private lessons. Every weekly lesson can earn $1,000 extra a year. So, why not do them?

I drank milk out of wine glass this morning with breakfast. All the other dishes were dirty. The smoking has stopped and I went for a run this morning; still doing my push ups and sit ups. Not sure what I weigh right now. No idea when the new job will actually start... no idea what Joel and I are going to do as far as living accommodations. We are planning on moving out and saving around $200 a month but we will just have to wait and see what happens. I will try to put up pictures today at some point, although none of them are really special. The girlfriend (if you can call her that - the month we dated I saw her twice) and I finally broke up about a week ago. I gotta go, lesson in half an hour and I need to stop by the bank to deposit some money... yep, thats right, I am actually going to deposit some. Hope everyone is doing well, once again, sorry for the delay. Once this craziness is over and I start my job again (knock on wood), things should be more regular. Hope everyone is happy doing whatever you are doing!! Take care, let me know when you are going to visit...

My Apologies

With the continued success of the Japanese blog, I have not been able to post on here and it does not look like things are going to ease up anytime soon. Every night I respond to at least 10 emails from people wishing Joel and I luck.

The blog now has over 80,000 visitors - yep, thats right, 80,000. Joel and I had an interview today with a morning show. Another TV company wanted to do a taping tomorrow but Joel and I are headed to Kyoto for some fun. Finally. Hmmm... what else? From the blog we have received offers for food (one girl wants to ship snacks from America), free haircuts, lunches, private lessons, some other business deals (one person said we can use a factory as a school and only pay electricity on it), and all kinds of sincere emails wishing us luck. So, I figure if someone takes the time to write me an email I should respond. I have started hitting the cigarettes heavy lately, two packs in the last two days because of all of the stress. We never thought the blog would have over 200 people and now here we are... So, just keep your fingers crossed. When I get a chance I will try to put up some pictures (in between applying for jobs, the blog, and everything else). Take care, things are definitely looking up over here. Who knows what is going to happen in the future...

I hope you are happy because I know I am finally returning to my old happy self.