Ba-su Pa-su Ba-ku-ha-tsu
(written Friday)
Today was ups and downs in a nutshell. The Kanji quiz this morning went smoothly, but only after a test that totally, TOTALLY sucked. So I went shopping. And I found what I was looking for (a Gap, camel-colored toggle-coat marked down to about $13US) but only after wandering around Tokyo to several different stores before one actually did the American things and CALLED some others to find it. The coat didn�t cost much money even including train fare, but it took the remainder of my happiness in the form of some BAD Karma.

I made an on-the-way stop at a Japan Travel Bureau in Ginza, which unfortunately resulted in my learning that I can�t actually use the special rail pass I wanted to purchase for my Hokkaido trip- it�s only good until Jan 31st. So crap. What do I do now?? Air fare? Regular rail? Something tells me this will cost more than it should.

And then, THEN, the stupid coat COST ME MY BUS PASS. I got off the Chuo-sen in Shinjuku and POOF, it was GONE. Let me tell you, I had several lovely mini-breakdowns a-la the mom in American Beauty.

Somewhere in Tokyo, my Y7200 teiki is floating around. It only has nine days left on it, but those are nine days of Y200 each-way bus fares that I can�t use. So now I either have to pay (yuck) or walk (yuck) to get to Shinjuku and back. I don�t know which is less appealing, the idea of spending $4 a day to get to school for the next week or getting up half an hour earlier to walk my ass there and lugging my tired self home.

UGH. I hope (please, God) it turns up in tomorrow�s lost and found and didn�t blow off the Chuo-sen in Takao or end up in the hands of someone who actually REALLY wants to ride the bus for one week.