where the streets have no name...
Well, I did it... and somehow outside of my own volition. I managed a nice balance this weekend and didn't get *too* stressed out about anything. I got done what I needed to do, and more besides. I went out, I stayed in, I slept well, I talked to my family, I ate healthy and walked a lot. I feel more normal now... functional.

Granted, I didn't do anything extraordinary, which I feel somehow under the obligation to do. It seems to me that since I'm here, I MUST use every waking moment to take the train to some new destination and go exploring. First, this shouldn't cause me as much stress as it does. Second, I'm loathe to admit it but much of Tokyo is the same: money pits and corner shrines. I love, LOVE browsing and dodging into every super-old and nostalgic shop and shrines I see. It's true, however (as much as I hated people who said this when I came), shrines are shrines and shops are shops. There's a certain "flavor" to all of it together but the places that really jump out are both rare and difficult to see.

Now then, I exaggerate when I say I did nothing extraordinary this weekend. I managed to do plenty:

-Friday's Nomikai with friends and strangers
-Watched Reinier try to explain the slang term "package" to a Japanese girl and confused her into thinking he was talking about making onigiri (aaahahaha)
-Explored the extraordinary midnight festival in the Kabukichi while drunk
-Walked home and while on the way took the elevator to the deserted 28th floor of the Tokyo Hyatt and ran around the skyroom in the dark
-Got all my homework done *early*
-Went on an impromptu drive to Waseda to see my bro's apartment and then was dropped off in Roppongi. That they even DROVE is extraordinary because my family barely takes their car out of the carport. Dude though, I got dropped off in Japanese style and saw the city at night from a car. I RULE!
-Went to Velfarre BY MYSELF and danced.
-Met a neighbor(!!!!)
-Wrote five (!) letters with photos included for friends and family
-Studied my flash cards
-Took myself to Shinjuku to look for boots....

... yeah...

Even more extraordinarily, I BOUGHT boots. I will not say how much they were. In fact, I will not think about it because as much as I can justify the expense, thinking about spending any large amount of money simply stresses me out.

I can afford to make large purchases occasionally, even if they are semi-frivolous. In my mind, there is nothing *really* wrong with wanting to look well-dressed and sexy. I also have to remind myself that this is my first designer purchase ever and that alone should make it OK.

It should suffice to say that these boots were expensive. Really. Expensive. Much more expensive than other pairs I tried on. Following the pattern of such things, they were of course twenty times as awesome and I decided that quality, appearance and comfort were in this case worth the extra money because those were the things I was looking for in my boots anyway.

Tsk, silly me... when I say boots, you must be thinking "oh, ... boots... how boring." What I MEAN by "boots" is AWESOME zip-up, knee-high, soft calf-leather, 7.5cm heel "do me" boots. Yeah, those kind. Most girls here have a pair and I was getting pretty tired of not being able to wear my skirts because I have only summer shoes. I did some comparison shopping and tried on about, eh, 15 pairs before I knew what I wanted. Figgered Shinjuku was the place to get em although they would have been cheaper in Harajuku or Shibuya. I can't let myself think too much about such things sometimes or I start to become obsessive-compulsive about it and just end up having a heart attack. So I bought the awesome pair. And now I'm awesome too.

What I have to get next (because of course there's always a NEXT) is some waterproofing spray and a little leather toner. Care to send me some "Leather Love," Justin? ; )

Dee dlee dee...

Today it finally decided to become Autumn. Unfortunately that means it's going to rain for a week and though I WANT to wear them (desperately, in fact) I don't feel like ruining my new boots. I am glad for the colder weather though. I feel more comfortable in my own skin, not to mention my sweaters.

Next weekend I'm going to a Jazz Cafe in Roppongi with some students and one of our program coordinators who is hilarious and extremely likeable. Kim, you and Matt want to come? : )

Also found out my family is going to take me overnight to an onsen in Hakone the weekend before Christmas break. What more can I say to that except hell yea!

I'm in a good mood.

And you know what? The streets really don't have names here except for the extra-big ones. It's freaking obnoxious. In a way, I like it since it promotes my favorite hobby of getting-lost-in-order-to-find-my-way-anywhere. Psychomapping. Try it here, love it forever. Woohoo!