Halloween Touring

Last weekend was the big event -- combination of the infamous Yonago Halloween party and the more sedate but no less fun Touring rally round Niimi.

Having gotten all my music sorted and decided with a couple of days to spare, I was left with the eternal dilemma -- what to be? Once again, I decided I had to wear the boots, seeing as how opportunities to do so in Niimi are few and far between, and that is as far as I got. I coupled it with my favourite and only leopard print cowboy hat and a smashing red shirt which works well in my favour and decided to go as a woman with a theme song. The theme song? "Hot girls in good moods" by Butch Walker and the Let's Go Out Tonites. Who needs a costume when you have a theme song.

The party this year ended smashing all previous records as 205 people attended, as much for the booze as for the music and dancing. There were a variety of clever costumes, from my favourite fallen Mormon to our hated North Korean president, to a flamenco dancer, a sexy and furry black cat, a pirate with a penchant for mascara, a white faced monster, a cute army captain, and on and on and on. My favourite Mormon, being the generous fallen soul that he is was good enough to treat me to dinner before the party, which was made even better for the company, followed by meeting up with more friends too long not seen. The music rocked, the venue was packed and favourite peoples abounded -- really, what more could I want from a party? Maybe not having to drive back to Niimi after, but that was my choice which also led to more fun.

Sunday morning's touring rally round Niimi with my two-meat sated navigators -- they feasted on yakiniku the night before, not really taken with the veggies so much as one might hope. The weather was gorgeous and has been for weeks. I have this fear that winter is merely hiding and laughing waiting the perfect moment to leap out and snow me under. We got our maps, which were barely that, and set off on our meanders around Niimi, losing roads and finding others, no arguing but lots of laughing and very little speeding. Each stage was followed by some kind of quiz or activity, and of the three I have discovered that I have a lot to learn when it comes to ground golf, a curious cross between golf and croquet. Hopefully I will do so before the tournament on November 19th...

Oh, and by the way, my lovely navigators, Datte and Ikeda Kun, and I managed to win the rally by a single point, despite constantly losing at rock scissors paper.

Stressing and De-Stressing

Go to work. Laugh and joke with the staff. Bite my tongue at another school. Bring it home at the end of the day. Spend a couple of hours planning lessons for the next day, the next school. Sorting out supplies and materials. Look in my wallet, and decline the dinner and party invitations. Scrounge supplies and cook dinner with whatever I can find. Listen to some good music. Worry about studying, without actually doing it. Cook some dinner, wash some dishes. Find some time to do laundry. Talk to my neighbor and listen to her complain about work and life in Niimi. Go for a jog. Enjoy a hot shower. Try to avoid the assault of the kame-mushi which seem to be out in droves this year -- apparent predictors of heavy snowfall come winter. Get up early and race out to meet everyone for a volleyball tournament. Attempt not to laugh out loud during opening ceremony while Kishi-kun stands in front of me, sending sidelong glances and quietly laughing. Get scolded by a friend behind for the obvious repressed laughter that has my shoulders shaking. Win a couple volleyball games, lose a couple. Chatting with Tama-chan about last night's okonomiyaki, and how I should meet her parents. (I hope this isn't a reversion to people thinking I am gay again? Seriously, just cause someone doesn't date much...) Joining a 70 person long single line "wave" as everyone cheers for the most unsportsmanlike team who ends up winning the tournament. Line up, once again ending up behind Kishi-kun during closing ceremony, who makes me withhold my laughter once more, but this time my scolding friend behind joins in. Listen to stories in the car about poor Kuma-chan while trying to catch up on some sleep. Getting caught not sleeping when the conversation takes strange turns and I burst out laughing. Wedding and marriage discussions while someone listens intently without trying to seem so. A declaration from me that there is no way I am going back in a different car, as I don't even want to imagine what they will discuss if I am not here. A perverse keyboard that doesn't have a warm and friendly relationship with the letter "V." Volleyball practice that goes reasonably well. Getting better and feeling slightly more confident, but still don't know exactly where I am supposed to be and when. Plans made for a nabe party on upcoming culture day with the boys who make me laugh in return for the takoyaki fest of a few weeks ago. Cycles about town in an attempt to save on gas, get up off of my ass, and get a better look around. Halloween party preparation. Listening to hundreds of songs in an attempt to make a set that will keep me happy. Laundry -- when the hell am I going to get that done? Cleaning, sure, let me call my maid. And people wonder why I don't invite them oer more often. Snow tires and my lack thereof, accompanied by stories from all my schools about how impassable routes to 3 of my schools will become in a month or so. Chatting with missed friends in Yonago about weather, work and wellness. Partaking of some homemade 梅酒 acquired from a friendly teacher. Enjoying some gorgeous fresh veggies from someone's garden. Munching on some delicious Frankenstein-sized grapes, a 名物 of Niimi. Worrying about how I have been out of touch with people I love for far too long. Wishing I had more time to read, but getting home too tired to care. And now? Who knows...

Yet Another Month Under the Rising Sun

Well, I have to admit that things are fairly hopping in Niimi, at least as far as I am concerned. Nevermind the daily grind -- the fun that accompanies visiting a multitude of schools who are all studying different things -- my social life has been quickly filling up my free time. What with having joined a couple of volleyball teams and softball teams (although the softball team and the soft volleyball team are now finished until next year) as well as taking part in some of the enkais that accompany such events, attending various sports days (without the make-up day off everyone else gets as I am very cleverly scheduled around everyone's holiday) and the enkais that accompany that, takoyaki parties and nabe parties, and soon a carnival and a DJ gig to boot, I am hoping for a moment to catch my breath.

I have to admit that alcohol is at the root for several of these events, agreeing to participate as I did after consuming a plethora of screwdrivers, however it has introduced me to a variety of fun people who I am looking forward to meeting again.

A curious thing about Niimi though -- nearly everyone is married. No, this doesn't mean I am looking, but certainly compared to Yonago where very few of my friends were married, here nearly everyone I meet has taken the plunge or is desperately hoping to, which means many conversations venture in that direction. Perhaps they thought there was nothing else to do? Or maybe there is something in the water? Or are they afraid of letting a reasonably nice person get away? Who knows, but I am now being asked to describe things like my ideal man and my dream wedding, and when I reply that I haven't really put that much thought into those things (God's honest, I really haven't) there is a moment of shock and disbelief before some comment about how, "isn't marriage every little girl's dream?" bursts forth through shocked expressions. And no, these people asking me these questions aren't women but men, as the friends I have made are primarily married men...

Who knows where these conversations will continue to lead, but I have to admit to feeling sorry for Kuma-chan, one of those friends who is searching for a wife to be with little luck, which is leading to conversations about him and his stories when he is present and isn't. Poor guy, and no, I am not interested, which instead of flat out saying, "no, really, you just don't do it for me" and hurting his feelings, has resulted in me relying on my lack of free time as an excuse. (I could totally find the time if I were, but I am not...)