Back in Japan

Hello everyone! It's nice to be back. I had a great time over break (as many of you know 'cause you saw me!). My brother got married, I visited friends and family, and got to enjoy the good ol' USA. I ate pizza, saw a movie (in English) and ate at a sandwhich shop that has more types of bread available than the average Japanese person can imagine. And of course I visted the best city in America, Boston. (HA! Take that my New York relatives!) :-) It was great to be home.

It's so cold here that I seriously don't need a refrigerator in my apartment! I'm not even joking! My food would probably be fine at "room temperature."

Although it hasn't gotten below freezing (it's been 1 degree Celsius) when your apartment doesn't have heat it's cold! I brought both my electric heaters into one room and closed the door but now when I want to make dinner in the kitchen or go to the bathroom I'm cold! At least my toilet has heated seats. Now I understand why they are like that. Non-heated seats get so cold! At least I can get that one room pretty warm though, and if I stay in there I am fine. Besides, I feel like the seasons are very important to the Japanese people, and feeling the cold or the heat while they are present is just another part of experiencing the season. Then I can be truly grateful for the spring. Or maybe I’m wrong and the cold has just frozen my brain cells.

So, this is day 2 since I started my resolutions. This is how I’m doing:

1. Do art 3-4 times per week. (I plan to do some art tonight, if I can warm up the room with the table.)
2. Go to gym 3-4 times/week. (I forgot my gym card last night, so had to go get it. Then I forgot my sneakers. So I gave up and went home! I have my sneakers and gym card in my car now, so I can go tonight!)
3. Pass level 3 Japanese exam. (I’ve been studying, but I’m still not sure if I passed level four. However, I’m showing progress. This is looking up. I can take it next year either in America or Japan, so let’s hope I’ll be ready).
4. Wake up at 6:30. (I pressed snooze so many times this morning that I didn’t wake up until 7... but in all fairness this was the first morning of my resolution so it may take a few days).
5. Put my keys in a good place. (I found a good place, and I put my keys there: success! But will I continue this goodness...? I think I need something that zaps me every time I put them in a bad place)
6. Spend 15 minutes every night preparing for next day. (Yep, did that, even though I wanted to watch another episode of “Scrubs.” Maybe I’ll do it tonight too!).

So... I’m showing progress. But they don't call‘em New Year's Resolutions for nothing. I got a whole year to get ‘em right. Right?

Signing out,
Lisa