Awe

Just a quickie ...

But guess how I took this photo?
With my new web cam!!!
Thats built into my new MacBook!!

YAYAYAY

Daves taking bets on how long it will last ... if you're interested email him!

Tech Free

Ok　so it seems like all I've been doing recently is talking about non-japan stuff like iBooks and iBooks and iBooks ....

So for those of you doubting that I'm in Japan or more so that I actually work here ...

For lessons we do a 5 minute warm up just to get the students relaxed and thinking in english. It can be a game or it can be a pronunciation thingy that we get from head office. Some of the time the pronunciation ones are fun ...

This week it was two columns of words like
ball -> bowl
hall -> hole
ear -> air
The idea is that we read through all the words and then play a game ... I say a word and if its from the left column, they jump to the left, from the right column jump to the right.

The first time I did this, I didn't understand what the deal was ... the words were so different, it was way too easy.

So in I go
"Please repeat after me - Ball", "Ball"
"Bowl", "Ball"
"Mmmm ok, one more time - Ball", "Ball"
"Bowl", "Ball"

So to Japanese people, these sound EXACTLY the same! There is no difference at all! It's hilarious because as I read through the words they're just staring at me like english is the most insane thing ever. And try as they might, they can just not distinguish between the words!!!

Now its your turn! Can you work out what words these sound exactly like? Answers on a post card puhlease ... (or in the comments, or if you're super-competitive you can email me!)

1. Heart
2. Boat
3. Work
4. Law
5. Ankle

P.S. I think I bought a new MacBook!

Better to have ....

So Monday was the trip to the Apple Store.

Packing my iBook with the care afforded to a new born baby (like locking the gate after the horse has bolted) I headed in with my 'eigo ga dakimasu ka?'* all ready. Because this wasn't something I was doing as a game of charades!

Walking into the Apple Store, I could have been in any country in the world. The same sterile whiteness, the same pretty things, the same store attendants from California.

So I waited my turn patiently until my name was called and then slowly unwrapped my once beautiful iBook. I could see him physically recoil at the damage and could see the judgement in his eyes.

After a few minutes doing his 'Apple' thing, he told me the good news - All my data was still there.

The bad news? It'd cost $900 to replace the screen.

I'd made a deal with myself, if was to cost more than $600 to fix, I'd buy a new one. So I asked how much it would cost for a　replacement.

About $1100 he said. And then looked straight at me. If I were you though, I'd wait a couple of days. No reason, and definitely none that you heard from me. But I'd just wait a couple of days.

And right on cue... Apple announce brand new Mac Books today!!! So despite the niggling guilt, and the distant wailing of an already forgotten iBook saying "I thought you loved me", I am looking at buying a new one.

A wise woman has advised me to buy a Dell, or Compaq or equally 'less pretty' unit, in the hopes that if I love it a little less, it's life span will be a little longer than my last two. But to that all I can say is ....

"Tis better to have loved and lost, than have never loved at all"


* Do you speak english?

21 Months

A couple　of things to know ...

- They don't have kerbs in Japan, The road and the path are at the same level. They have raised concrete barriers about 6 inches high at intervals to mark where the path ends and the road begins.

- I'm not allowed to have pretty things.

So here's　the story.

Thursday was a crazy day so when I got home at ten I had some comfort food (tuna potato bake), put on Harry Potter (I've been listening to the audiobooks) and relaxed. After that I spent a couple of hours preparing lessons, and hung out on my balcony reading emails. Was kinda feeling a bit lonely so thought 'I know!!! I'll bring my laptop to the 24 hour internet cafe and call someone at home!!!'

Jumped on my bike, headed off all happy, went into Irish cycling mode, came out onto the main road, which was completely empty considering it was 2 in the morning, and pulled out onto the road.

Well that was the plan.

After 6 months of dicing with death in Dublin rush hour, a bloody lump of concrete on an empty road was the thing that got me!!!

So after a pretty impressive piece of acrobatics, I end up on the road, flat on my back and went immediately into embarrassed survival mode! Standing up, completely winded, trying to grab my bike and start moving in case anyone saw. And luckily no one did.

Oh wait, except for that whole bar over there!

So the waiter runs out speaking Japanese, helping me with my bike, and as soon as　I grab my breath back all I can say is 'Sumimasen, Arigato, Sumimasen'. Meanwhile he's looking at this crazy foreigner just babbling 'Sorry, Thank You, Sorry, Thank you' and wondering how hard exactly I hit my head.

So taking my 'oh so graceful' leave of my Japanese hero, I start hobbling back to my apartment feeling immensely sorry for my self, but deep down knowing I was ok. A scratch on my arm, and some tender ribs (a lot less than the time Crusher (aka Dave) tried to kill me). It was a fairly lucky escape for a first bike accident.

And then I remembered.

My laptop.

Its safe to say, it didn't fare quite as well. From　the outside there's just the tiniest scratch but inside the screen was completely smashed, and no amount of band aids seems to be able to stick it back together. Having said that, it seems to be starting up and working ok other that the fact I can't see anything.

So tomorrow maybe an emergency trip to the Apple store, which of course was one of the first things I located (hospital, fire exits, bar, apple store (not necessarily in that order)). So wish me luck.

Either way, I'm going to be even less around than before and I don't want any complaining cos if ya do, you'll get what Dave has had to listen to for the past couple of days. 'My beautiful laptop, it was so pretty, and now its gone. I loved it so ....' You have been warned.

Any donations to the Joanne's Pretty Things campaign gratefully received. Alternatively you can donate to Dave's Sanity Fund.

Right I'm off to cry myself to sleep again!

I can see my house from here ..

So I'm standing here on my balcony, getting eaten by mosquitos, piggy backing on someone's wireless ...

Back to work tomorrow, and while the break was nice, and much needed, it'll be nice to get back into things. I think being at work makes it feel more real, more like real life and less like ... just hanging out in a different country. Although I'm sure it'll become a lot less exciting some time tomorrow evening!

So did a fair bit over the week, and I'm going to try write some more posts about it over the week, bit by bit ...

But here's the general run down ...

Sunday - Dave was sick so we just hung out in Kanie
Monday - Came to Inuyama and cooked, hung out
Tuesday - Sightsaw in Inuyama
Wednesday - Went to some Nagoya sights and had some Okinawan food
Thursday - Went to Nagoya Port and a nice mexican place, Desparados
Friday - Explored Kanie
Saturday - Went shopping and to an English Pub, Elephants Nest and a local Izakaya
Sunday - Relaxed, came back to Inuyama
Monday - Went to work, did some shopping, washing ... quite the house wife!

So theres the deal ... I'll talk about some of the more interesting stuff soon, but incase you're interested I've finally put up some of my photos. Enjoy!