So I went back and read that airplane blog.

I skimmed it a little bit over at Aya`s house a few days ago, but I read it entirely just now.

By the way, could anyone do me a favor and check out my Japan life blog and let me know if it looks okay. The layout doesn`t properly load on my work computer. I put a clock on there that SHOULD have Japan time on it, but I haven`t the faintest idea what that looks like (for all I know, it could not be a clock at all...) Anyway, that would be much appreciated.

Today I asked my supervisor to help me buy a car. I learned so far that there`s really no way around me neither having to buy or rent a car (it was very STRONGLY suggested, which is saying a lot around these parts). I`ve also heard a number of times that it`s smarter to rent a car if you plan to only stay for a year, but if you plan to stay longer, it`s better to buy one. I was tempted by the idea of renting because then I`d be freed from the hassle of owning a car in Japan, but I decided that maybe I should consider buying after all.

I went home from work yesterday early due to severe cramping (which, TMI I know, had me in the bathroom losing my breakfast) and after relaxing for a while and going over numbers, I realized that people weren`t fooling around when they said I`d be able to afford a car. I guess I kind of had to see the numbers to believe them. Anyway, the idea of driving on the other side of the road still terrifies me.

It just dawned on me that I am sleeping about 7 hours a night. I used to think that I could only really function on at least 8. Isn`t 7 like the minimum for a good, restful sleep? Someone with either the knowledge or the initiative to look into this can feel free to step forward.

Internet, cellphone, and everything else that I am waiting on my Foreigner Registration card are going to have to wait for some time. Especially internet, I heard that it takes about two weeks to get that set up. Jenny, a high school teaching ALT who lives not too far from me, told me yesterday that one can sign up for the internet service and get a bank account with just the pink slip for proof that the card is coming. I really, truly wish that I knew that.

Since I am going to be out of town from Monday to Friday this next week, I still have to wait until the week after next to get anything like that going. It would`ve been nice to get the internet process started last week. *sigh*

I got my name stamp the other day. It`s pretty much my legal signature. Not the most secure thing because it can be lost or stolen, but it`s still really cool to have.