The Beginning? Part 2

I got my visa approval card on Saturday, and I went and picked that up this morning. I was given a 3 year visa, so I can stay here as long as I want now without worrying about my visa expiring on me.

Funny story about that, see, I don't have any money. Literally. I think we all kind of (wrongly) assumed that we would at least get this month's pay and then the world would fall apart but we'd be ok cause at least we got paid. So, Saki and I took our trip to Nikko, I paid bills as I normally have to, and went to a few of my friends' going away parties.

But, then, er, ya. They told us our paychecks would be late, i.e. never gonna come.

So anyway, I tried to pull money out of my U.S. account yesterday but was unsuccessful, I assumed it was because I was using the card in another country. So, then I remembered that there was probably a withdrawal limit on my account, tried to take out less, still with no luck. I was going to have to call my bank, but my phone isn't enabled for international calls and my calling card had no more minutes left on it.

I went down to the Chiba Prefectural Immigration Office with about 7500 yen in my pocket and to my name. The visa was 4000 yen, and transportation was about 1500. That left me with 2000 yen in my pocket when I arrived back in Shin Matsudo, where there's a post office and a couple convenience stores, among other things.

So, here's where it gets cool, but, I mean not really cause the whole situation sucks. But anyway, I pop up on my phone and download a barcode that I use at the convenience store to purchase minutes for my phone card costing me, yes, you guessed it, 2000 yen. Then, using my newly purchased minutes, I called my U.S. bank and spoke to them about my account, and discovered that while I was able to withdraw money, the limit was far lower than I had attempted to withdraw. Anyway, they raised the limit for me, I went to the ATM, took out some cool cash, and voila! Here I am with a valid 3 year visa and cash in hand to last me through the month.

So, I'm not going to die. I'm not going to starve, but I am going to be living extremely tight until I get a new job and start getting paychecks again.

My friends here have been really supportive during this whole thing, mostly cause we're all in it together. Especially my friend Richie, he's been a big part of my sanity, and more especially Greg, who is going out of his way to help me get a job with the company he works for as soon as possible. My girlfriend, Saki, as well has helped me to focus on the good of all this, and kept me from wallowing in what would otherwise be an incredibly shit situation. Except she's usually so tired after she gets off work that she falls asleep after sending me a text message. Oh well.

Anyway, more as things progress. Thanks all for your support.