Peanuts are really really filling.

That's it. They just are. You'd never expect it.

Boy, am I spent. What a difficult blog.

I think I'll go take a nap now.

What? You want more? I'm supposed to make up for the combination of this one being late, and also for not making one yesterday?

Well...the thing is...really, I just don't feel like it.



















Nah, I'm lyin. Okay, here goes.

After staying up until 5:30 AM (bwahahahahaha!) I did what any red blooded American would do and slept through two alarms and along the way my first class.

Normally that's upsetting, but it was a computer lab day, and the thing in the computer lab was broken, so the class kinda went home early from what I was told. So I didn't miss anything and I don't think they took attendance. So, win win.

Second class was boring Japanese. Who needs it? I can get around just fine with the level I have now. I'm sure that's all they need in the business world (Note: I am already taking a class that proves how wrong I am)

I got a chance to prove how little I actually knew at a restaurant later in the day. I'll get to that.

So after class I decided "Dammit, I need a jacket. SO HARD." We were at the time experiencing blizzard force winds and temperatures, but without the snow. It was all I could do to withold my teeth from chattering. Can't let those Japanese see a weakness in my American force. No way no how. So t shirt clad and concentrating on a bucket of fresh steamy KFC chicken (it works in commercials, dammit!) I made it back to the dorms putting on a strong face.

Was going to try to do the whole walk from Book Off to You Me town today. It's a few degrees warmer in Beppu at all times than at APU (for example: It doesn't snow in the city) so I wasn't worried about that. The main worry was that I got delayed leaving for various reasons, and on top of that it had been dark since about 5pm so my main goal of a photographic adventure seemed pointless. Ah well. I still needed to get a jacket, so I waited for the bus still thinking about delicious crispy cock meat (see KFC reference above).

The bus to Beppu was pretty cramped. Sat next to this one Chinese kid who looked utterly confused and even managed to push for the wrong stop, which really irritated the bus driver. For once I got the opportunity to help somebody ELSE around Japan, and he seemed to appreciate it. His name is Derek (people, I can pronounce your Chinese names. Poorly, but you do the same with my English one so you can justdeal with it)and I'm making sure to remember people's names for once in my life. They all remember mine. Speaking of which SHO. Another guy I met.

Anyways, off the bus. In the mall. I had conceded to the fact that shit costs off the walls in Japan so I had come out with the resolve that it'd cost 80 dollars for a jacket at best. Found one that I liked right away for 40. I claim it makes me look like Ernest Hemingway, but it does no such thing, especially after I googled images to see with Ernest Hemingway looks like. Either way, I came across one of him bare chested holding a rifle, so we're going to go with that.


Manly.

Yes, back on track. Found one for 40 dollars. Awesome. Since I had planned on spending 80 though, that means I had another 40 to spend on clothes! That's how it works, right? I'm using logic, I promise. So I got two more jackets of varying thickness, and a sweatshirt which is apparently fashion. I hate sweatshirts but it had a fish on it so.... I... well, I guess I don't really have an argument. I live on a mountain for Christ's sake, it gets cold dammit. They were 1000 yen a piece. That's ridiculous, considering the store I bought them in carries various clothings for 8000 on average. The Japanese don't joke in the word "sale". Insanity. It might not be oshare (rabid fashion) anymore but you know what? I'm not Japanese. I can be a trend behind if it's friendly to my wallet.

Bought the clothes, and moved on to the American store. No BBQ pringles. EFFFFFFFFF. They had that one can one time and I've seen none since. This is depressing. Why they keep importing the dill pickle flavored ones are beyond me. Better luck at the book store. Since I didn't make it to Book Off today, I looked around for something cheap at the mall (HA!). Apparently Detective Conan manga is only 300 yen. That's astounding. Doraemon is 600 yen and that's even more popular.

Anyways, I bought some toys.

I am obsessed with these little guys.



Cyborg 009, Viral from Gurren Lagaan, and Kamen Rider Kiva (thanks Runa) in that order.

It was awesome, as Cyborg 009 was the one I wanted the most from that particular set and it was the first one I got. So much win. Although there is an artificial human Kikaider figure I need to get from the series, and these things are cheap as hell so here's to hopin. I got another figure too, but it's stupid so I didn't picture it. Instead, have a bigger picture of my favorite pseudo-human.


I'm so damn awesome.

My other goal of coming out was food. I got my super expensive milk for post-exam celebration (what? alcohol? I don't get where you're going with this). And I got me some more taco ingredients. Turns out that for some reason buying the taco kit is actually CHEAPER than buying the ingredients that I need. That is to say that since I already own sauce from last time, seasoning and tortilla shells for some reason cost a full 150 yen more than just the kit. Which is...absurd. I can't believe I didn't look into that last time. I was just so excited. Anyways, the point is: tacos again. Sweet holy mother of awesome.

After You Me town I got to test out my new jacket on the walk to Beppu Station. Granted there is a bus stop RIGHT THERE outside the mall, but I was hungry and after all that exhausting shopping (am I right, ladies?) I didn't want to have to cook for myself. Along the way there was a guy in the underpass sitting on a stool with a guitar and some female groupies, playing his song for some spare change and the love of music. LIKE A REAL MAN. Tossed him a handful of change and stuck around for a minute or two listening to him, and he was pretty good. Mind you though that dollars and five dollars are in coin form here. I tossed something like 7 coins, which makes the maximum I could have thrown THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS. I didn't, though, if I had to guess it was something like 3.16. But you know, it's the effort. Whatever.

As fate would have it I got to the station RIGHT AS the bus was leaving. This left me exactly 30 minutes to wine and dine, or at least the second option. The burger place that had been my destination was closed up so that didn't work. Just for good measure, I stood pawing at the locked doors with a sad look on my face as the employees looked up from their cleaning duties utterly confused. So when that got boring I went to the Mister Donuts next door and got a bun wrapped sausage (anyone who's had baos, think the hot dog bao) and a french cruller that came with FREE WATER! In a GLASS. Amazing. Anyways, the girl at the counter seemed amused by my inability to speak Japanese (told you this would come up later. IN YOUR FACE people who think I'm senile) so she did a whole bunch of hand motioning and in the end just basically did what she wanted. But she was friendly, and she carried my food to a table to me due to my hands being full of shopping bags and shame.

I tried to eat as slowly as possible but that only wasted ten minutes, so I wandered over to the arcade for the first time. I know, I'm as shocked as you are. Roshi? NOT going to an arcade? Astounding. I didn't understand half of the things in there though. Not only were the instructions in Japanese, they were also nonexistent. Wrap your head around that one. So after one machine ate 200 yen, and another one mocked my existence by being impossible for three tries (crane games aren't meant to pick up BOXES you scheming pricks!) I played 4 bouts of Tekken before Hwoarang failed me. No, no I'm not bad at the game. Hwoarang is a sissy little bitch and he should try harder. Dammit.

Made it back home a bit after 10 and talked with random people I know in the hallway, unpacked my food, and now I have plans to go to Oita with JM over the weekend. So that's cool. The Fukuoka plans aren't happening? I guess our friend forgot he had asked if we wanted to go. Which is pretty much fine, because I'd end up spending something like 500 dollars if I went anyways.

So that's caught up with today, where I ate an entire loaf of milk bread and some peanuts. Maybe peanuts aren't that filling and it's more the me eating an entire loaf of bread. Must investigate further. Hurm.

Some interesting points from yesterday then:

I had managed to wake up on time for once, and left 5 minutes earlier than my normal time to get to class, which was nice. But on the way I saw this girl struggling with some build-up furniture IKEA style, right? Now, this wouldn't be so much of a problem I suppose, but here's the thing. There is nowhere to get that stuff on campus, and especially not anywhere in the vicinity of the dorm building. Which means that this girl had been dragging these three things from the BUS STOP. By herself. And the time that I saw her was right after the normal leaving for class time (most students like to get there 10 minutes early. Personally, a wizard is never late. Nor is he early. Except yesterday.) At the rate she was going it must have taken her something like 5 minutes to drag these things from the bus stop. And in the MOST TRAFFICKED TIME OF THE PERIOD, NOBODY STOPPED TO OFFER HER HELP. This more than anything irritates me. So I walked up and offered to help her bring them to her room. She stood there and looked sort of confused, so I said "Tasukemasu?" which is my equivalent to asking if she needs help in Japanese when I'm under stress to think of something. This didn't...help...either. Turns out she was Chinese, which is perfect cause I took a full year of Chinese that I can't remember a word of. When I made the motions though, she bowed a lot and said some things. Note: A girl passing by said "She says thank you very much" and then also walked off without offering help. Thuper. Anyways, I grabbed two of the three things and followed her up the elevator and to her room. She said thank you a whole bunch, and then in severely broken English asked where I'm from and if I was going to be late for class. I never actually... get her name. She might've said her English one but I couldn't tell, but she said that her Chinese one was too hard to pronounce so I left, and she followed me to the elevator thanking me the whole time. I also tried to say nice to meet you in Chinese but failed exuberantly at that, which I double checked with Fanxing later in the day.

Point being that I thought common deceny was dead in America, but hell this is an international institute. Turns out not caring about your fellow man is a worldwide sensibility.

Anyways, not ending this on a sour note. As this is chronological order, I managed to do pretty well on one of my final exams shortly after that. That's where I met Sho, as he sat next to me and talked up until the moment we were told to be quiet. Really friendly guy, had a cool hate. Studied in England. I only remembered later that Sho was my favorite Japanese name growing up as a result of a series of horrible video games, so he has that going for him too. (anyone who guesses the game series gets a prize. Limited time only. All applicants must be legal residents of the United States and must be 18 or older at time of playing)

Also, I had to go to the bathroom after class. And THANK GOD for that, or else this would never have entered my life:



Haha no, I don't know what it is. It looks like a Japanese Spiderman if I had to guess. I don't know what it says or why he's flailing around like that, but I couldn't leave it alone. So I responded with a picture of Spiderman myself:



The internet meme: How do I shot web? emblazoned above the traditional questioning spidey from the same trend.

Of course this is not my best drawing of the Friendly Neighborhood Arachnid Dude. But let's see you do better when you're lopsided on a porcelain throne. I can't rule my monarchy AND draw at the same time. Wait, I think I got lost in my own innuendo...

Anyways, that's up to date. And I have no class tomorrow. And if I do, screw that. The final was last week, what are they gonna do?

I'm gonna go eat some more peanuts.