08/30/2008: "Another month comes to a close"

Hey, who knew.. I'm still alive! I wish I had stories of epic proportions to tell or even something remotely of note, but frankly, my life hasn't really been all that interesting as of late. The only thing of note that I can really recall is that Mothra, the radioactive, HUGE moth seems to have moved into my apartment. It's not bad enough that late at night while I'm watching TV I'll occasionally see the moth dart past.. no. Nor is it bad enough that I've swatted the thing twice and yet it always gets back up and away.. those things I can understand. It's when a giant moth flies past you when you're in the shower. Seriously.. I have shampoo in my hair, I'm standing under a jet of water, and a moth flies past. Last I checked, wasn't water not good for these things? It stayed out of the water, but still.. came pretty close.

Alas, that's about as interesting as my life gets as of late. Otherwise, I've been a bit depressed lately, so I've been trying to take it easy. Decided to lay off of studying this week and just been watching movies and reading a novel. It's not so much that I'm 'depressed', more just 'bored' I think. After 4 years of college and getting a degree and then moving halfway across the globe, I guess I kinda expected life to be more interesting.

Certainly, I appreciate that once each day is over my time is my own; there are no tests or homework assignments to worry about. However, at least I had a goal to look towards. Every 4 months, the classes would end, I would put them behind me, and then work on something new. Here, I could realistically do this for several years (though I'd rather not).

Basically, I need to get a hobby. Something to go out and do. I just haven't bothered to get around to it yet.

Otherwise, work and everything else is going all right. Had lunch with one of the Japanese teachers on Tuesday, new American teacher came in on Monday. He'll be moving in to the apartment above mine. To be honest, I'm not a terribly social neighbor (please, oh please don't talk to me after work..), but I offered to take him around town this afternoon to pick up stuff he might need (sheets, pillows, TV, whatever), since he doesn't have a car, and it's a bit hard to get around if you don't know where anything is. Besides, when I moved in, the guy I was replacing was really kind and took me around, so I guess it's the least I can do. You know, karma and all.

I did actually go on a date with a Japanese girl about 2 weeks ago. It was really nothing of interest, just a vague setup from a coworker of mine. Long story short, it went absolutely, brutally, and quickly to hell. She told me on the date, over the course of 3 hours, that I'm 'cold', 'a dimwit', and 'really, really weird'. She also looked the words up in the dictionary to make sure she got the right meaning. Yeah.. I was a bit surprised. Why would you stay 3 hours if you so clearly didn't like the person? But! It got better. She then went to my coworker and told her all sorts of charming things about me (or, at least, her opinion of me) and asked my coworker to uninvite me to a concert she had previously asked me to go to.

Personally.. I'm just shocked. She doesn't just not care for me, but she actively seems to dislike me. Kinda curious what I did. While I don't really care about her or her opinion, it is a bit of a blow to your self-esteem and makes you less eager to go out and meet people.

On a more positive front, though, one of my students invited me to her house to meet her family and have lunch together last weekend. It was probably a good thing, and at least helps to put down the prevailing "everyone hates me" feeling.

I suppose you can't win everyone.. nor should you. For the very same reason that people like you, others will hate you.

And, it's distinctly possible that she's crazy. Why do I only meet the crazy ones?

I should get going and do something with the rest of my day. Finished my monthly reports, so the rest of the day is mine to spend as I please. I'll write sometime again soon (ideally with less of a space in between)!


Jason