Thanks for the penny, here are my thoughts

**Sasaki, my sole remaining private English student and a typical salaryman, lives in a dormitory. This is actually quite common and many of the spring term students live in a dormitory split between gakusei (students) and sarari-man (yeah, salarymen). Outside of the sad truth, which is that these men simply cannot take care of (i.e. cook and clean for) themselves, dorm living actually makes a lot of sense. The Japanese work-week is obscene, usually far above 40-hours. On top of that, working at a Japanese company requires a certain amount of post-work socialization (drinking) with coworkers. So unmarried-- and even some married-- salarymen live in small dormitory rooms where all the basic cleaning and cooking essentials are taken care of by the "Dorm mother." While it's really kind of retarded that these guys can't take care of themselves, logistically it makes sense that they wouldn't want to. As a woman who has experience "working" over full-time between classes, a job and publishing a student magazine, I can honstly say it would have been quite NICE to have someone cook and clean for me. But it would make my existence a whole lot less satisfying.

**During the time we spent at the onsen and on the road this weekend, I found out that my host parents have effectively been together since they were 15 years old and in high school. Host Dad says they got a lot of grief from people saying they were "too young" (tru dat!) but they really wanted to be together. They went to separate colleges. They're 51 now... and though they seem to get along very well, they sleep in separate bedrooms and I can't think of one occasion since I've arrived that they could POSSIBLY have had sex. Maybe this *is* the reason that they still like each other...

**Now me, on the other hand, I've gone from being a committ-o-phobe to buying matched dishware in Kappabashi (a set of 6 large plates, 6 small plates, 2 serving plates and 2 bowls if you're interested) just so "we'll" have it later when we need it. *headdesk* Yeah, I'm happy that I'm happy too... but I do feel more than a little embarrased to be entertaining marriage fantasies with such frequency. Perhaps it's time to change the hormones again! o.o

**I've been being hit on by a loser at the gym. This is really nothing new, as it was pretty much the defining point of my existence at the UO... but this guy is an exception. The first time I met him, I thought he was gym staff, as he was behind the counter and handed me my card. My guess was that he was a trainee, as he wasn't wearing the uniform. As it turns out, he's just a REJECT and comes to the gym just to talk to people. Apparently he has no idea how insanely fucking annoying this is to everyone involved except him. People working out do not want to talk. They are working out. The gym staff does not want to talk... they are working. And even if they are bored spitless, they don't want to be kept captive (I shit you not) by the same idiot for hours on end. He's a gym troll, is what he is, a helpless freshman with no idea about social skills. Alas, I made the mistake of being sociable and now he's nanpa saseruing me (effectively trying to pick up) by asking me, occha demo nomimashou ka? Gah, if I didn't KNOW about Japanese pick-up lines, I'd just be like "um, you want to go drink tea? Why? No one "goes to drink tea."" But unfortunately I know what it means and unfortunately he stalks me when he sees me in the gym. The next time I'm just going to tell him to buzz off.

**On the other hand, I had another one of those embarrasingly flattering moments leaving the gym last week. It was raining... the most dangerous time for tall people like me... and I had my umbrella out. I was trying to dodge sidewalk traffic to get to class on time, which involved raising my arm and umbrella far above my head to get out of the way of the canopy made by short people. As I passed two high school girls in uniform, one of them looked up at me and said in a gasp, se ga takaiiiii (she's talllllll) and a moment later, from behind me, I heard the other girl say kireiiiiiiiii (beautifulllllll). It's simply comic if they thought I couldn't understand them. It's really flattering if they knew I did.

**I saw a great shirt today featuring the Nova Usagi (Nova Rabbit). The stupid thing pisses me off. It has an obnoxious voice for one thing, and for another... um, since when do RABBITS have beaks? A lot of the times the stupid mascot is wearing headphones for some reason. The shirt I saw, worn by a Japanese girl on the Yamanote line platform in Shinjuku, said "Ooops. Hey, Nova Usagi, try wearing those headphones on your ears." Yeah. I laughed. ^.^'

**Finally, I tried the Taiko Game AT LAST, about a week ago. The game kicked my ass but somehow I still beat Kyoko... oops. I don't need to say any more as the pictures can speak for me.