Week 30

So, I left off last week thinking I was going bowling with my girlfriend's family but plans changed once more after I uploaded my post and we ended up going to the Osaka Aquarium instead. In retrospect going to the Aquarium on the "Ocean Day" holiday was a bit silly as it was super busy/crowded. In the end I think everyone had a good time though. My girlfriend's nephews (3 and 6) are really energetic and had fun looking at all the fish. My girlfriend's mother is also pretty energetic and spent most of the day chasing down the kids. Ater seeing all that was to be seen inside we sat outside (most of the day's rain had passed at that point) and ate a boxed lunch my girlfriend had prepared. Late in the afternoon my girlfriend's brother came in his van and took the kids and my girlfriend's mother home. Back at my apartment my girlfriend and I talked for a long time about various things and were having a good time until, right before she went home, I... caused some drama again, which took some time to resolve making it a very late night for both of us. (Lesson learned: don't ask questions about the future out of the blue and without context.)

Tuesday last week I walked around the electronics district with one of my co-workers who was shopping for a new lens for his camera and wanted my advice. Once we had found what he was looking for we adjourned to a karaoke box for a few hours of singing. Later, after ramen for dinner, we hit up a cool "video-game bar" which is home to a bunch of classic video game consoles, all free for customer use.

Wednesday was a relax/rejuvenate day and ended with a spectacular after-the-typhoon sunset which I watched from my balcony while sipping tea and reading a good book on my iPad.

Thursday before work I headed over to Osaka's latest fast food joint: Burger King. The Osaka outlet is just as good as any of the one's in Tokyo but not quite as good as the one's back in the states (that might just be nostalgia talking though.) The two main differences between Japanese Burger King and it's American cousin are 1.) the fries, the one's in America are crunchier and more flavorful 2.) In America you can get a shake with your meal, in Japan you can get a Heineken. All-in-all it's nice to have another alternative to McD's around.

Friday I went out for dinner with my girlfriend for the first time in a while. We went to a "hamburg" restaurant that essentially served hamburgers without the buns. Afterwards we did some light shopping and had a drink at my girlfriend's favorite bar before parting ways.

Saturday after work I wandered around the city were my Saturday school is killing time before the school party that was scheduled for that evening. But my wasting time turned out to be just that as only a few students showed up for the party. We still had a good time and I got to know a little more about my supervisor on Saturdays, which was nice.

Yesterday I came home from work and watched the week's recorded TV shows until bed time. Oh, right before bed there was a magnitude 4 quake in Miyagi Prefecture (maybe, 100 miles away) which made my building jump and shake. Never a dull moment in the land of the shaking sun.

Nothing too big scheduled for this week. Partly because I sent all my spare money home this month and partly because I've still gotta start packing. I can't believe there's only 8 days before I'm back in the States.