Ranalli's - Thin crust pepperoni, well done.

The Brauhaus - Saurbraten

Indian Garden - everything

Moody's - Cheeseburger

Then Chinatown and Koreatown and Mexican and Little Vietnam. Maybe a Greek salad at this place I know. More later.

Well, I didn't go to Kamakura last weekend, I ended up having a lovely day with my girlfriend shopping. We bought stuff for Skype and a few presents for friends and family back in the States.  Time spent with her is better than time spent alone, I think. As we were testing Skype, she said that she thinks she will be okay if we can communicate like this. It was good to hear.

Today I had my last private English lesson with Kentarou. It was a pleasant 3 or so months working with him, and I think I taught him a thing or two. Funny, at first I didn't like him. I used to think I was a great judge of character, until I realized how many times I was wrong about people.

I have a speech and a school newspaper article to write. Plus I want to prepare some closing remarks for the graduation ceremony, in case we non-returnees are asked to speak, as was the case this time last year. Our tests have already started, and I have finally gotten used to taking them. I have discovered that studying is indeed a helpful tool.

I want the waiting to be over. I don't want to go, but this countdown is making me mental.

Tomorrow, I am going to try to go to my favorite place around Tokyo, Kamakura. If you are ever in Tokyo, I insist you go visit, especially if you won't be going to Kyoto or any of the older-style cities. There are temples everywhere, and it's kind of a sacred spot for me.

I was planning on doing it alone, but I have gotten tired of being such a dramatic, solitary person. Maybe I'll invite a friend. Since I was a kid, I always preferred to do things by myself, and lately I have grown to like others' company.

...in all countdowns. 6 days of school. 2 weeks in Japan (14 days). 3 tests. 3 days of work.

I have all my shippable belongings almost ready to go. My 2 guitars, some clothes, etc. I think I'll be able to make it to Chicago with only a duffle bag, computer bag, and a carry-on. Tomorrow, I will take the boxes to be shipped.

As usual, I feel like my Japanese is about to turn a corner. I guess it's a circular path though. It's always turning a slow curve. But things are getting easier to express, and Japanese people tend to understand me more.

Next week I will cancel my cell phone contract. For any Americans, the process is a little different than in the States. In Japan, you call and say, "I'd like to cancel my contract". Then they say, "OK, thanks. It's canceled." No $200 "There is nothing you can do about this" charge. You don't realize how much easier life is, in certain ways, until you live somewhere else.

I am substitute teaching 4 more shifts, this week and next. I still have a hard time remembering which class is which. I can't imagine that I will ever be a real teacher, since I have trouble remembering 4 student's names, let alone 25 or 30.

Today I have a class that I taught last week for the first time. The one boy in the class is kind of a smart-ass, until he discovered that I speak Japanese. I have to be careful not to let him know that if he speaks at native speed/vernacular, I probably won't understand him.

The other classes are full of goofy kids, just like me. My goal is to make them laugh. They are as cute as can be. I guess teachers here can burn out on "cute", cause their are some bitter gaijin working here in Tokyo, but it hasn't happened to me yet. I have it pretty easy, though, my gig is part-time, and I do it mainly for spending money, not survival. This can change things, I have found.

My school however, the last 2 weeks are busy. I am embarrassed to say that my project is to make a newspaper with my class. It's my goal not to complain about how child-like this project seems. I wanted to do a lemonade stand, but they shot that idea down.

I think we have officially 7 days of school left. It drags when I am in there, but the days fly by.

I awoke last night and had to close the patio door, as it was cool and rainy, just like it's supposed to be for the next few days. It's not yet autumn here, the leaves haven't really turned colors yet. In Japanese, autumn leaves are called "紅葉", kouyou; lit. "red leaves". There are many fall-related words in Japanese, such as:

秋気-shouki-the fall air

小夜時雨-sayoushigure-a light shower on a late fall night.

秋風 -akikaze-fall breeze.

秋日和-akibiyori-clear fall day

Autumn is my favorite season. I haven't lived anywhere that I didn't like it's autumn.

So I sorted some more clothes, threw out some trash. More preparations to leave. I found a coffee shop to study at, only about 600 feet from my uncle's apartment. They have oolong, sencha tea and coffee, which is about 73% of my diet.

I am having these minor panic attacks. I impatiently wait for this date, at the same time I covet every minute here with my girlfriend, my classmates, my friends.

I am off now to google "miso ramen chicago".

蛤の
ふたみにわかれ
行秋ぞ

How can I suck every last minute out of my time here? I am stressed with school, but I am about to let it go. School is important, but my friends here are more important. School is for personal gain. These people I will never see again. To waste these last minutes I am here would be a terrible loss.

I added "life in America" to my list of categories. Do I over-prepare or what?

I have been doing some lyric translating for a Japanese metal band, and wasn't surprised to find out that the guy I was working with was the bass player. I'm a bass player too, and I used to take on all kinds of projects in the bands I was in. I think it's because I always felt like I had to be the one to get things done.

I find that similarity with lots of other bass players. Hard working, smart, maybe a little less confident than guitarists and singers. But at least we aren't drummers:)

We finally made it through this chapter, where we diverged from the book and had to write 8 versions of basically the same composition. I still have to write the last one.

The compositions was about our personal history, we would write it, then tell it to someone, then they would write about what they heard, then we had to discuss it. Then we had to re-write it, then write our impressions upon reading it. Then we had to rewrite it again, inserting our impressions, and adding new things. I had papers flying in all directions, and no one knew what they had turned in or not.

Also, this semester, the teachers are not correcting small grammar mistakes, they tell us. Which is kind of a drag, cause I'd prefer to know if I am making them or not. When I reread my own writing, I hear some things that don't sound right, but were not marked wrong. A little perplexing.

I don't know, maybe I'm just being negative. It's not so bad now that it's almost over, but I am not sure how effective it was. But, I will trust the teachers.

Or try to.