hey all,
As I posted last time, I've got my new visa. As of this afternoon, I've had my foreigner registration card updated as well, which means that I don't have to carry around my passport to prove that I'm not here illegally anymore.
The weather was downright atrocious this weekend. It rained all through Saturday, Sunday, and into Monday morning. I almost did the exact same thing as the weekend before last, and left 2L of chili and 1L of rice cooling next to my refrigerator. I was on my way out the door when I realized what I'd forgotten. It was also a little dramatic, because Michi and I got into a couple arguments. Thankfully, we patched them up pretty quickly. We had originally planned to go climbing at a gym, but we decided to see a movie instead. Unfortunately, almost everyone else had the same idea, and the movie we wanted to see (Gaku , a mountain rescue movie based on a manga, and also the name we picked out for any potential male offspring...) was sold out except for a really late show. Instead, we rented the Green Zone. Pretty good, but I have to agree with "Movie" Bob's assessment: it minimalizes the role of the Iraqis in their own story. Besides all that, for my sake we probably should have picked a movie that wasn't such a downer given the weather that day and the arguments we'd had.
Food-wise, we ate at a mediocre ramen shop near her place (my tsukemen noodles were fine, but the soup lacked flavor and didn't have enough vegetables and meat, and the dish Michi ordered didn't have any warning about how spicy it was on it and was too spicy to actually eat), and also at a Osaka-style okonomiyaki restaurant near the movie theater. The okonomiyaki place was actually quite good.
On the upside, we finally booked the hotel we'll be staying at when we visit Matsumoto, and settled on a place to do some hiking and some sights to see besides the castle.
When I came back on Sunday evening, I noticed a post on our house whiteboard that 2 more people have moved in. I need to get out of here. Two people on one side of my room, two on the other, one directly across, two more on that side, then 4 living in a dorm-style room, and 2 more people on the first floor. All sharing a kitchen so small that only one person can cook at a time. Michi and I also agreed to go apartment hunting again next weekend...
Three more episodes of Game of Thrones' first season left. The book ends on such a cliff hanger for so many plot points that waiting for another year for season two to come out will be tough. Sounds silly, considering that I've already read the first book 3 or more times, once in Japanese, but the TV series is that good. At least a new book in the series is coming out in a few months. I'd preorder it but I think I'll be living in a different place by the time it arrives.
Cheers,
