Entries this day: Dream Japan flash_cards

Dream

7:06am JST Saturday 17 May 2003

Watching a large ship in the water moving from Japan to an island. I was floating out in the water at the time and the ship accelerated for a while and then decelerated the same amount for the second half of its journey. I swam over to its path and found the water was quite shallow, like only a couple of feet deep and I didn't understand how such a large boat could have been floating in such shallow water.

Then I was floating in the wake of a large man walking the same path as the boat had taken. He was a pretty funny guy, making jokes or something along the way. Jokes and sound effects.

Japan

8:33am JST Saturday 17 May 2003

Guess what

I'm in Japan!

It just seemed to hit me, as I'm actually kinda sorta feeling comfortable with most parts of my weekly routine. I know what triggered it; I got paid. Or as Dude and I would put it, I got paaaaiiiaaiiiiiaiiiid!

126,000 yen for a month and that's the lowest it should be. Frank thinks they took out too much rent and after two months I can add 40,000 yen that they won't be taking out for the advance, and I'll be off probation etc etc.

So this smallest paycheck is $1260, all of which I can send home because I've withdrawn enough to last the month until next paycheck.

It costs 2000 yen to send money home, and that seems to be the best price around; I haven't done the research myself, but everyone I talk to says yeah that's it.

BUT(!!) my bank reimburses up to $6? dollars per month for ATM fees if I withdraw money from a different bank's ATM. Therefore, I believe I can call 'em up and flirt 6 dollars out of them for the..... uh oh I just thought of a problem. I mean an opportunity for more flirting:

If the 2000 yen is removed before my bank even sees the money, then I have no proof of the fee. But my bank can call Lloyd's and be all yo yo what's the dealio and... yeah. It will be good.

I'm writing while riding the train (Nambu line from Musashi-Kosugi to Kawasaki) and except for the train itself, it's silent. Every seat on the train is full, but no one is talking. About 1/2 are sleeping and about 1/4 are looking straight ahead with no apparent reaction to anything they see, and about 1/8th are reading magazines, and about 1/16th are playing on their phones, 1/32 are listening to music, and 1 is typing on his computer.

My point: as I type while we're stopped at a station, each keypress is the loudest thing occurring at the time. Ooh now there are some more people on and a few are talking.

- - - -

Most train stations have music that plays just before the train leaves the station. This music certainly could be used to discern from what station a train is preparing to leave, but by the time it wakes a body up to get off the train, it's too late. Maybe. I dunno; I'm still not sure why they play music.

But I do know that my favorite music is what they play when I get off the train at Musashi Kosugi on the way home. It's like a gentle symphony compared to the hyper chords played at other stations.

We're at Kawasaki; gotta go. Actually I don't quite yet, cause there's going to be a mile long line (mob) going up the escalator.

Funny I can feel the train vibrate as people get off.

flash cards

9:51pm JST Saturday 17 May 2003

I bought flashcards on the way home from work today. Actually it was right near my work so I went back to show the girls who staff our office. They were appropriately appreciative. Their encouragement helps me study; I can flirt with them by speaking snippets of Japanese. Very harmless snippets like "horse" and "I am eating rice."