Strawberries and Peaches

So...what's new...I bought new shoes, agian. Great, go me. This time they were a little more what I was looking for, fit, and were much cheaper than the pair I bought a few days before. I got some booot type style kinda thing shoes during my lunch break as the result of a mini freak out involving my grey stripey pants being about and inch or two too short for my taste, and my new shoes being a lower cut than the ones that just crapped out on me. Rob mentioned I should go boot style, what with the style of pants I was wearing, and thus my mission was begun.

After work yesterday I cruised out directly to Nishi Eifuku where I met up with Janel to have dinner and stay the night. She made pasta and salad for me, and we had our first little fiasco, trying to make the alfredo sauce. First she didn't know how to convert grams to cups, but after a little creative thinking we figured that out. Then, we tried to use the microwave to soften cream cheese, but then decided we should just look for the blender which we eventually found. Then, come time to eat, we realized the bottle of wine I brought needed a corckscrew which did not seem to exist. But, after much searching and a bit of frustration, Janel opened the super secret drawer without a handle she had forgotten about and there it was. Sweet. Dinner served. For the record, I think it's the sweetest thing she made me dinner.

We talked it was nice, we sat on the couch together afterwards but what I liked was just sitting around the house and relaxing while she cooked. Just kinda watching her prance around the kitchen half knowing what she's doing, and the interplay between us when she didn't know what to do. I guess what gets me about her is that sometimes she says things that are just so incredibly direct, and normally that wouldn't bother me, but having gotten used to Japanese culture, it does come as kind of a shock. Hearing things like, "don't look at me" when what I'd normally hear is, "I'm so embarassed about people watching me drink" is a little abrupt, but when she says things like that, she looks at me a second later with the most incredible eyes and this feel like she's so happy to be looking at me that I can hardly think there's any harshness in her words, rather that's just the way she talks. So, even if I wanted to I couldn't be offended by it. I should mention this girl has the most amazing eyes. Even if there were malice in her words, that look would undo any animosity that developed as a result.

I didn't get couched, so I was happy about that, and moreso I was happy to wake up next to her, even though on account of the a/c being on in the room it happened many, many times throughout the night and morning.

Anyway, last night was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed getting to know her better. Looking at her photo albums and things, seeing her aunt and uncle's house, it kinda gives me a better feel for the depth of her life, what kind of person she is. It's weird, you can have ideas about someone, but then you get to see evidence of their life before you knew them, how they came to be here and who they are, and it somehow makes them more real to you. I've noticed a lot of teachers I know out here don't have that, I have no concept that they exist outside of this little world here.

Anyway, I was dead on my feet at work today, and I'm going to go to bed early tonight, er, well, as soon as I finish this, to catch up. Tomorrow Janel and I are going to go see the new Pirates movie. More as it comes.

OH and the peaches thing. On my way home on the local train tonight I ran into a student who I see out drinking sometimes, and she was on her way home with her dad, who speaks great English. We discussed the new Oliver Twist movie which he doesn't like, and they gave me a couple peaches. Every time I see students out in the real world, they give me stuff. That rocks.

And in case the strawberry thing went entirely over your head, Janel is a redhead.