Things That Make Me Laugh

1. Switching shower rooms. Every month or so the girls and guys swap shower rooms. One has a sauna, so the management is trying to be fair about giving everyone the chance to use it. Its fine as long as you know which one you are supposed to use. A few weeks ago I walked into the one I had been using since I got here. Someone was in there taking a shower. I thought nothing of it, but then I heard a cough. A deep man cough. Sh*t I'm in the wrong bathroom!! Luckily I had not gotten undressed and I was still in the entry room, not actually by the showers! Since then I always check the door to the shower to make sure they haven't switched the rooms without my knowledge!

2. Kirin Free. I bet this beer hasn't reached the US yet, but Kirin just released a new one called "Free." I always see ads for it on the train. It is bottled or can and marked with Kirin just like its other beer. But it is breakthrough because it contains 0.00% alcohol. It seems very contradictory to me. Haha, I thought the reason people actually drank beer was because of its alcohol factor?! I cannot stand beer even though it is always at parties and is the cheapest way to get drunk. I do not understand why anyone would drink beer if it didn't have the alcohol. It doesn't smell that good, taste that great, BUT it has alcohol. I don't know what beer is w/out its one asset. This makes me laugh.

3. Send over the English speaker! Whenever we go to nicer restaurants the only English speaker waiter is usually the first one to even address us. I don't know how we stick out so much for them. The Japanese speakers don't even try to speak to us. Lol. We've been served by the same waiter at Zest (Ebisu) twice. Ordering is probably the one thing I actually can do in Japanese!

4. Who they address. I went out to lunch with one of my friends from Seattle. He is Greek so he totally looks white. We went to a very traditional noodle restaurant near Sophia. We were the only non-Japanese people there and the menu was written in kanji and everything. Even though he speaks Japanese better than me, the waitress spoke directly to me. Haha, I think she thought I was Japanese or at least would know more Japanese than my white friend. The funniest thing is that I didn't even realize it till he pointed it out. I realize that whenever I've been out with white people, the Japanese will automatically address someone who at least looks Asian or Japanese. The hakujins don't even have a chance haha.

5. How chang I am. I have been ridiculously cheap since I got here. Ridiculously cheap. Whenever I go to the 99 grocery store, I limit the number of items I buy. I mean the are all only $1! I have been cooking things that take the least number of ingredients and are hence the cheapest. Tonight for instance, I told myself I could only get 3 items, a little over $3 worth. I guess this way I hardly buy snacks and dessert for myself. I carry my shower stuff down in a plastic bag! Haha I don't think I will even end up buying a caddie. Its hardly worth it since I'm only here for a few more months. Or thats what I keep telling myself :)

6. Overeating. Whenever I find something I love, I tend to overindulge and make myself sick of it. I love popcorn, but I used to eat so much at a time that I would get a stomachache. I stopped making it. Here I hardly let myself buy snacks and such, but it seems like I have already overeaten a variety of things. I found this snack called "Carmel Corn," it is like puffed crunchy, sweet, and sugar-coated. Really good. Last night I ate the whole bag in less than 30 minutes. I don't know why I do this to myself...needless to say, I've turned myself off to snacks.