New 'update'

Hey all,

Just a quickie: I'm still alive, and currently buzzing on half a pot of coffee - the real, honest-to-goodness American stuff! Yay!

Anyway, I'm conflicted again as to what I'm going to be doing next year: there are too many options, and I'm too apathetic for my own good. My AT (supervisor) talked to me a couple of weeks ago about staying at my current branch, which actually sounds pretty good: I like my students.

I still don't have internet, which has significantly reduced my ability to look at/for grad schools, both American and abroad. Hopefully internet will be available in the next couple of weeks. Grr. Stupid Japanese beaurocracy.

I've been battling a cold/sore throat for the past week or so. It's not too fun.

On the music front, Iain and I have been practicing quite a bit, so hopefully we'll be playing at Misfits sometime towards the end of March. We decided on 'Corduroy' for a band name so as to forewarn all of the fact that what they'll be seeing is two indie-looking guys with acoustic guitars. 'Flames for Gommorah' didn't quite have that effect. =)

I was up in Inuyama last week for practice, and afterwards Iain and I decided to take a little hike to see the countryside. To make a short story long, we ended up walking about four miles to try to find a bridge across a river so that we could explore a castle-like building that we'd never seen before, and ended up lost an hour's hike inside a forest, on our way to somewhere we thought we might be able to catch a train. As the sun was setting. Hahaha. It was a blast. The plan for next 'weekend' is to set out earlier with proper supplies and see just where the hell the 'trail' leads. =)

I believe that is all of the news that's fit to print. If you want more details, email me - I should be back online in about a week.

Peace to all,

t

Explanation

Okay, so I feel I owe you all an explanation for my long absense: the internet is not happy with me or my collected group of apathy. Or,

About a week before I moved to my new apartment, NTT suddenly cut off my internet. And VERY suddenly: I finished downloading MSN messenger to keep in touch with a friend of mine in Tokyo, and when I went to launch it - nothing. No internet. So I waited for my computer genius roommate to get home, when we discovered that it was, in fact, dead. So we called up NTT in the morning, were given the run-around in two different languages, and decided to try the next day. Long story short: NTT holds that we failed to pay our September bill on time, and, instead of sending us, say, warnings, they just cut off our 'net.

So. Devin finally got them to reconnect our internet, which requires them to: give us a new number (which he finally talked them out of), give us a new address (maybe portal address?), and send a new modem. Y'know, to replace THE PERFECTLY FINE ONE ALREADY CONNECTED TO THE PHONE JACK! Seriously, for a nation lauded for technological advancements, Japanese companies have the flexibilty of Lake Superior freighter.

So then I moved to my wonderful new cellbloc- er, apartment, and we still don't have internet. Rob has promised that it should be arriving within the next two weeks or so, so I shouldn't be out-of-touch for too much longer.

Apparently there is some form of Olympic event going on. So I hear.

Anyway, news is forthcoming, including new photos, band info, and Osaka stories. Stay tuned.

Peace,
t-i-j