twenty five for twenty ten: june

4 sell something i made
apparently my aunt is willing to buy some pouches from me. does family count? ;P  i need to make some more to take home in a couple weeks...

5 keep track of finances
i've got everything input into my DS budget book for june.  i forgot to pay my internet bill and i owe Ro three months of my cell phone, but even calculating those in, i'm not in the red this month.  finally!  i  think i will be imposing a budget soon to increase the amount i can save each month.

7 make 4 things i can actually wear out of the apartment (1/4)
(1) denim skirt refashion.

17 climb mt. fuji (working for more than a weekend looks unlikely)
after preliminary talks with Ro about going to festivals and fireworks, it looks like i'll be climbing mt. fuji sometime between august 15th and 19th and/or stay up there for those four days, if my boss lets me.  anyone wanna come?

21 read a book once a month
i finished definitely dead, from the sookie stackhouse series.

22 mail a letter to someone once a month
i sent a package to Chelsea (with this soap from yo-jiya she loves and a zippered pouch).

23 call home at least once a month
called for father's day.  i will forever be a daddy's girl.

24 get permanent hair removal (started in 09, finish)
i finally made an appointment and went in. last october, i paid 6000yen for a two year deal and even though you can/should go every 3 months, i hadn't been back since, so i was way overdue.

25 keep nails looking nice in an effort to quit biting my nails
they look like this right now.



p.s. i'm planning to revamp my list now that we've hit the half way mark and i can see that some goals are not practical (and just remind me that i can't get them done this year each time i look at my list, which seems counterproductive) and others need to be tweaked or completely re-thought out.  so, "new" and improved list coming in july. that being said, i did really well with the bottom 5 on my list this month; that may be a first!

a no go

i'm getting over the apartment.

though, not very well, i should add.

it was so much better than anything

i've seen for rent in tokyo.

the price was perfect.

(well, the deposit and reikin were a bit high

but that's the japan real estate way, no?)

the size was considerably bigger than our minimum.

it had a private roof balcony above it

as big as the actual apartment.

it was five minutes from a sort of minor train line.

but would mean an hour commute for both Ro and me.

more than that, there were other money/work related issues

that meant we can't actually move.

well, i can move.  Ro can't.

...sigh.

i was under the impression that if we found

a place, we'd be able to move.

apparently that's not the case.



i need to stop looking if we can't move.

i just get carried away daydreaming

and then seriously let down.






12:55am edit:
we were on the phone talking about other things
(as i, typically, went through another box of tissues)
and he figured might as well just get it out in the open;
more than the commute, or all the work issues,
it's "us" that's the issue.  i said if that's the case,
let's stopping looking at apartments then.  he said okay.
glad he just came out and said it, but damn it hurts.

balcony lust

i'm trying to convince Ro that this:

(along with the 72 square meter apartment one floor below)
is worth a slightly longer commute from a non-major station.

i'm already daydreaming about summer barbecues,
and maybe a picnic table and strings of lights,
and planters in the corner with herbs,
and where all our furniture will go.


yeah, it's bad.

things i love thursday

.anniversaries (one year ago...).
.wearing new clothes.
.words with friends (iphone app).
.van houten cocoa.
.new english magazines.
.planning a party.
.snickers.
.sookie stackhouse books.
.pineapple mentos.

japanese realtor rant

so Ro and i are casually looking at apartments.  sometimes we sit down and look together online, sometimes he'll send me links to apartments or search engines and i browse to see what's out there.

this morning, he sent me a new search engine that we'd never used before.  it came up with a ton of apartments in my neighborhood (we haven't actually decided on "where" yet.  or "when" for that matter!).  there was one apartment i wanted to actually see, since the layout online didn't really give me a good idea of what it looked like.  so i called.

i gave the lady on the phone the apartment ID number and she said she would see if it was still available and call me back.  she asked for my name, which i had to repeat about 4 times until i could get her to realize there was a second syllable.  "um, yeah, it's in katakana."  i gave her my phone number and she said she'd call back in a few minutes.  "and oh, excuse me for being rude, but what nationality are you?"

ah, there is was.  i knew before i even hung up that the apartment wasn't "available" and they needn't even waste their time calling me back.  fuckers.

the girl didn't even have the nerve to call me back herself.  some guy called and after giving me the classic japanese not-at-all-sorry "i'm so terribly sorry" line said if i'd like to let them know what kind of apartment i'm looking for, they would call me if they ever had anything come up.  yeah right.

i gave them a curt no thank you and hung up.  even if the apartment really wasn't available, don't think i'm going give them one yen of my money after they asked me what nationality i was.  it shouldn't matter, and if it does matter to them, as it would appear, i'll take my business elsewhere thankyouverymuch.

seriously japan.



p.s. i may start using my boyfriend's last name when i make those phone calls.   imagine their faces when my white ass shows up to see an apartment!

things i learned from my dad

 (insert cute father daughter photo)

☆ you won't regret investing money. the earlier you put the money in, the longer it gains interest and (hopefully) goes up in value.

☆ take everything in stride.  don't let 'em see you sweat.

☆ working hard at what you do pays off. sometimes my dad has to work on the weekends and gets calls in the middle of the night, but he loves what he does. because of that, we've been able to go places or do things as a family over the years.

☆ you're never too big to sit on your daddy's lap.

☆ how to use power tools and saws. my dad likes to build things in his wood shop. he made things like our huge backyard treehouse/swing-set, tables, my loft bed, and all kinds of racks and shelves. sometimes we (my brothers and i) would help out drilling nails, measuring and cutting wood, or just sanding. this has come in handy putting together ikea funiture more than once.

☆ it's okay to be romantic.  and to cry at sad movies, weddings and funerals.


i love you dad.  happy fathers' day <3

windless

i have five windows along one side of my apartment.  four of the windows are sliding windows and one opens out at the bottom, letting in air but not rain.  unfortunately, there's a building right next door, so i don't actually get any sunlight from that side.

the space between the buildings does make a bit of a wind tunnel though, so i get a nice little breeze when i leave them open.  normally around this time of year, i leave them open all day.  while it's already hot enough to justify closing them all and using the a/c, i am trying to hold out for a little bit longer.  saving all my yennies.

luckily none of my windows match up with the windows next door because the buildings are so close that i can reach out and easily touch my neighbor's building.  the window in the bathroom that opens out actually stops when it hits the neighbor's building.  (and wouldn't that be awkward if the windows did match up; we would both feel like we were in the others apartment)

anyway, yes, the buildings are THAT close.  welcome to tokyo.

so, this week they started tearing down the building next to mine and rebuilding.  the current building and the planned building are both four stories.  i live on the second floor. the optimist in me said, "ooh, once they tear it down, but before they build it back up again, i'll get amazing sun and air in my apartment!"

and then went up the scaffolding.

and the heavy duty tarps.

which, do a great job of keeping the whole demolition/dust/drilling under wraps (ha...pun intended) until it's all done (presumably?), but the whole pipe beams and heavy duty tarps thing also takes up all of the already tiny space between the buildings.

my bathroom window doesn't even open.

the tarp blocks the "wind tunnel."

there is no breeze.

sigh...

yeah, it's gonna be a long summer.



guess i'll just have to buy more popsicles.




p.s. there's still time to get in on the happy 600 giveaway.

things i love thursday

.getting mail.
.cucumber tsukemono.
.pink pants.
.egg mcmuffins.
.popsicles.
.tuesday night tv.
.casual apartment shopping.
.morning stretching in bed.
.work bonus (small as it is).

love hearts and crosses

i was playing around at polyvore.com and i came across some really cute earrings. and then, only by accident, i ended up at this webpage.

so i spent some time browsing (and drooling) at love hearts and crosses and found...

some adorable necklaces:

more cute earrings (including the "hey, i have these!" angel wing earrings):

and these bracelets? i'll take one in each color!

and, despite not being a "ring person," i totally love these:

christmas is still a long way off, isn't it? ;)

kamiya poster

（みんなが行く方向が正しいとは限らない。）

this is actually a poster i saw on the train for kamiya bar (asakusa, est. 1880).

i really like their train posters.

but i'm not sure the idea in this one has caught on in japan yet though...

happy 600.

not that i needed a reason

to give something away,

but say hello,

and maybe this

or this

or, you know what,  you can pick!  any one of these

will end up in your mailbox.

because you can never have too many bags.

let's recap:

happy 600 posts + happy commenting = happy pouches! 

everyone wins  :)

denim skirt refashion

after two full days of sewing...tada!

i used an old pair of capri pants that i never wore, another pair of jeans and my favorite fabrics.  i loved the butt pocket star on the capris, but they haven't made it out of my closet in at least two years.  i decided it's time to make something i will actually wear with the jeans i don't wear.

i cut the second pair of jeans into shorts and just used the leg fabric.  the remaining jean shorts aren't flattering at all, so they will probably get turned into a mini-skirt version of this skirt.

i went outside my building, set my camera on my bike and took a lots of photos with my self-timer, but most of them aren't worth uploading.  i give huge props to people who can actually take good looking photos of themselves with a timer or remote.  i was really self conscious and would have taken more if there weren't so many people walking down my street!  i didn't get too many obvious stares, and the ones i did get were from old japanese men with unabashed curiosity.

when i came back inside and looked at the photos, i loved the side and the back, but wasn't crazy about the front.  too much light scrap fabric and not enough denim maybe?  i added some denim and darker fabric at the top but it's too dark out to reshoot.  plus, i think i'll wait until someone can take the pictures for me.

the fun thing about this skirt is i can add or subtract whenever i feel like it.  and it's my first "something i can actually wear out of my apartment."

lucky Puré?

i love fruity/gummy/chewy candies. it's sort of an addiction. anyway, Puré has come out with new flavors lately (orange and green apple specifically) so i bought some last week. as i took one out of the pack to eat, i had to do a double take...

has anyone else ever gotten one shaped like this??

it felt like my lucky day!☆

キラキラ take four

subtle おしゃれ with a couple stars thrown in for good measure.

i was thinking about going back to my natural nails, but figured i want them to look nice when i go home in a month, so i got gel nails again to keep myself from ruining any progress. i'll get them done again before heading home in july and then go sans-gel from mid august. we'll see in the last four months of the year if i can, or have, really kicked the nail biting/picking habit.

things i love thursday

.cake.
.sewing projects.
.seeing old students.
.dinner with old coworkers.
.snickers.
.new fabric.
.new nails.
.coworkers becoming friends.
.tully's anzu swirkle.

wordy wednesday

i'm exhausted. i just finished three pretty long days.

i'm still having restless nights and bizarre dreams.

i wake up several times during the night and actually

am often stressing about something from work. ...

i was reading some blog and the girl was saying how

knitting is so important for her because it allows

her complusive mind to rest. that's sewing for me.

i'm in the middle of a scrappy jeans-to-long-skirt

sewing project, but my needle snapped yesterday.

hard to believe i've made it this long with only one.



i think i have a nail appointment tomorrow, but

college friends are in town for a wedding and want

to grab coffee. and, i'm thinking i'll go back to

my own nails for a bit. my apartment is a mess and

i've been avoiding a call i need to make about a project

i should have finished but haven't. i realized this

evening, as i walked from work to the station and

listened to my coworkers chatting, that i have become

quite a homebody. i'm prefectly happy to stay home

on my days off. sewing and reading, listening to music

and falling asleep on the couch with the tv on. of

course i enjoy going out and exploring tokyo or going

back to favorite spots, but my body isn't up for all

nighters or excessive drinking. am i getting old?

it seems like everyone lately is getting engaged,

or married, or pregnant. and then i think, well,

at this age, none of the above are weird or should

be unexpected. but i wonder, how do people decide.

getting married seems like a decision bigger than me.

though i guess moving into this apartment was like that

over 3 years ago when i signed the lease. all. by. myself.

and now my stuff has grown into the space. but do you

grow into things like a husband and kids? it's occurred

to me that i have a lot of STUFF. how do people part

with their stuff? and why do i hate doing the dishes

so much? (yes, this is really how my brain works)

i had spaghetti for dinner tonight but it wasn't nearly

as good as when Ro cooks spaghetti. i could use a

goodnight cuddle and a kiss on the forehead. will settle

for a phone call. off to leave dirty dishes in the sink,

do the contacts/face/teeth business, and climb into bed.

before ten on a my friday night. i am too cool.

bernadette

a few years ago, my partner in crime, Chelsea, left japan to return to australia.

it pretty much marked the end of my drunken clubbing nights, kissing too many boys, and general running amok in tokyo (for better or worse, i still don't know!).  it also meant the end of meeting up after work to commiserate, gossip and destress over dinner and drinks, shopping on the weekends, and exploring tokyo together (definitely for worse). 

when she left, i inherited several items:

the infamous kerosene heater (exiled to the balcony)
a comfy reclining floor chair (in my bedroom)
a super soft and big area rug (in my bedroom, covering some tatami)
a spatula (how i lived without one, i do not know)
and...
bernadette.

(may 2008)

actually, Chelsea gave me a whole collection of potted plants that she got at a farewell party.  (note to anyone attending a farewell party: don't give the farewell-ee a potted plant, i mean come on, think about it.)

i was actually really excited to get some plants to liven up my balcony.  i asked Chelsea to name them, but she could only come up with bernadette, so the rest remained unnamed.

by the fall, i had worked my brown thumb magic and bernadette was the only one still hanging on.   or maybe they really just wanted names.  either way, i just left nature take its course and, ashamedly, gave up on doing anything.

fast forward to two years later:

that bernadette is one tough cookie, considering i haven't watered her in...coughcough...over a year?

and miraculously, she's blooming again:

i don't know what kind of plant she is (anyone know?) but after taking these photos today, she's my reason to finally get my sad and far too long unattended balcony cleaned up and looking nice again.  and hopefully i can do it before the sit-on-the-balcony-with-a-drink-and-a-book weather turns into rain or unbearable heat.

i took a before picture today, but am too embarrassed to put it up without an amazing after photo to make people forget how bad it looked.

things i love thursday

.seeing my family <3 <3 <3.
.dry heat = good hair days.
.hamburgers with Ro.
.new clothes - thanks dad ;).
.thursday and friday, my weekend.
.new dishes for free.
.funky wavy hair by braiding at night.
.keeping the windows open all morning.
.tomato in nippori.