05/25/2009: "Holla back, yo."

Hmm.. where to begin. I took the driving test last week, which means I have to leave my house at 7:30am, drive a hour and a half, and then take a written test (in English). The written test is quite possibly the easiest thing I've done in awhile, seeing as it had some questions like "If the speed limit is posted as 40km/h, I can drive up to 40km/h. True or False?" They even had pictures, in case that was too hard for me to wrap my mind around. So, I aced the writing test.

The driving test? I failed. Hardcore. I thought I did pretty well, but it turns out that you need to hug the curb when you drive in Japan. And you need to jerk your neck in each direction obnoxiously when checking if something's safe to proceed. So I went back the next day and only had to take the driving test. Failed again. I got too close to the curb in an obstacle course S-curve and went over it. The man, with no trace of irony, told me I should practice. Now.. exactly how many S-curve roads have you driven on that are wide enough for only 1 car? Never seen one in my life..

So, I'm going to take it again on Tuesday. Let's pray I'm done, because I really hate this hour and a half drive and $25 fee just to drive all the way back home with nothing to show for it.

But hey.. enough of being negative (you're lucky I opted to not write on Thursday after failure #2. I was not a happy camper). I didn't get a chance to study with my coworker this weekend because she went to Tokyo, but by some odd twist of fate I met two people this weekend that I could hang out with over the weekend. What're the odds?

The first person contacted me on a Japanese networking site and told me she's been living in America for 5 years, would be back in her hometown (where I live) for summer break, and wanted to meet. Sure, why not! Did I ask why? Of course not. How do people seem to find me? Who knows! I had nothing else to do this weekend, and it's not like I know a whole bunch of people. So, we met at a coffee shop and ended up talking for 4-5 hours before making plans to meet again on Sunday to go to a movie.

Sunday comes and we go to "Angels and Demons" (the sequel to "The Da Vinci Code", I hear), which wasn't altogether a bad movie. After living in the city for nearly a year, I'd never actually gone to the movie theater ($16 for a movie? Uh.. I'll rent something for $1.50, thanks, and watch it at my convenience). I've been in it many times, but I never bothered to watch anything. So anyway, we watched the movie, went to a restaurant in the mall, and talked for another 4 hours before taking her back home. Busy day.

And THEN, I had dinner plans about an hour and a half later with another person. I was introduced to the other person through a student of mine, and we exchanged e-mails and all that stuff. So, met her, her twin sister, and her twin sister's husband for dinner. Over all really great people, though I felt a bit out of my element as they are into the hip-hop scene, and I can't tell my hip from my hop. When someone asks you what "holla back" means, you know you're in an interesting position. But it was nice, fun, and we talked for 3 hours or so about various things.

That would bring up pretty much up to speed with my life, at least as far as I know (people tend to not tell me important stuff, so I could be married, independently wealthy, or homeless and no one's bothered to inform me yet). Been pretty sociable this weekend, though I need to get down to studying now.

Tomorrow, I pick up my new visa (had to get it renewed so I'm not here illegally). With luck, I managed to get a 3 year visa and won't have to worry about renewal, sponsorship, leaving the country, or anything for the next 3 years. Let's hope!

Good luck, and don't have too much fun without me!


Jason