RCA

Well yesterday I finished the paperwork to apply to become a Recontracting Assistant in either Kobe or Tokyo in May/June. I really enjoyed the conference when I went last year and I set a goal for myself to try and become a presenter this year. I was rolling around the house pretty aimlessly and I thought, oh yeah, I'll do the paperwork soon. I knew if I didn't kick myself up the proverbial I would miss the deadline. So despite only having one computer between us I managed to deliver 3 presentation outlines to CLAIR one week ahead of schedule. Now I can only wait and hope that I get to miss work to take the bullet train somewhere fun. I have no idea if what I wrote is what they wanted, but I've stuffed in as many practical ideas and new approaches that I can think of. Fingers crossed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH!!!!!!!!!

Hallelujah!

Breaking news on one of my biggest moments in Japan. Costco is now selling real long-grained Basmati rice!!! No longer do we need to suffer.
www.theflyingpig.com

We're Going To Malaysia...

Yep, today I will go and pay for our tickets flying Singapore Air to Kuala Lumpur for 8 days at the end of April/early May. There is a God!
It's that gross time of year when it's half way between Christmas and Golden Week, the sky is grey and I'm sick of the feel of polar fleece against my skin. Come on blue skies, cherry blossoms and hina matsuri!

I have started to print out useful websites on Malaysia. The first one was the locations of all six Marks and Spencers!

Twilight Zone Monday

Today, my JTE got an English board game out to play with the kids. She then took a ziploc bag out and handed each group a dice. The dice were perfectly square little cubes of raw potato that she had cut up herself, and had written numbers on the sides with permanent marker, only the numbers kept rubbing off 'cos being raw potato, it wasn't exactly a dry surface.

I kept laughing hysterically today whenever I thought about it. Not in a good "it's-nice-to-have-a-laugh" way but in a "I-may-need-medication-when-this-is-over" kind of way.

Memoirs Of A Geisha

Dan and I had a quiet Saturday and did something we used to do all the time in NZ - went to the movies. We saw Memoirs of a Geisha, which is titled "Sayuri" in Japan. I had just read the book and really enjoyed it. The movie was so beautiful - priceless silk kimono, the wooden houses of Kyoto, the lanterns, the fans and the dancing. It helped to rekindle my passion for Japanese things which has been a bit lacking lately, being the middle of winter and having just read "Dogs & Demons"! The movie is all in English as the cast is not all Japanese - many are Chinese.

It cost us 1,700 yen each to go. That is NZ$21.23 (and the dollar is till ridiculously high on top of that).
So on the opening night of "Sayuri", Hagi's Twin Cinema hosted a total of 4 people in the theatre including us. Bloody pathetic. It seems as if the owner doesn't want to make any money out of the place? Cut the price down to at least 1,000 yen, install a popcorn machine, tidy the place up and get the punters in. It isn't rocket science.

The adverts before the movie started included an ad by the film industry in Japan who are running a "Save Our Movies" campaign. Well, duh. Not having an audience is half the problem! It makes me so mad to see when there are dozens of pachinko slot machine gambling monstrosities dotted around every town and city in Japan. I will write a begging letter to Hoyts immediately.

For a really good article about the movie, go to http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501051121/story.html

I've Been Tagged...

Ages ago, so here it is

4 Jobs I've had in my life
Vineyard Labourer
Cleaner
Nanny
Assistant Language Teacher

4 Movies I could watch over and over again, and do
Point Break
Dirty Dancing
A Perfect Murder
The Night Before

4 Places I have lived
Masterton, NZ
Hawkes Bay, NZ
Wellington, NZ
Yamaguchi, Japan

4 TV shows I love to watch
The Apprentice
Queer Eye For The Straight Guy
NBC/BBC The Office
Friends

4 Websites I visit daily
www.bigdaikon.com
www.radionz.co.nz
www.ninemsn.com.au
www.femalefirst.co.uk

4 Places I have been on holiday
Melbourne, Australia
Korea
A few jaunts around Japan
NZ

4 Favourite foods
Chocolate
Sausages
Capsicums
Berries

4 Places I would rather be
10cc Cafe with Mum, Meredith & babies
Hiroshima on the bullet train
Paris
Ireland

4 Bands I can listen to over and over again (and do)
Fat Freddy's Drop
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Ardijah
Black Seeds

4 People I am tagging
I think everyone's been tagged...