An update

The days pass, the blog is neglected. Let's see what I can do:

Let's start with Halloween. The picture I tried to post in the previous entry didn't work, so let's try that again.

That's the stuff.

So one time at karaoke some time in early October, somebody brought a horse mask like the one above. Hilarity ensued. Just to be clear, it's not difficult for hilarity to ensue at karaoke, because the only activity available there is singing, and alternatively, listening to your friends sing.

So the horse mask spiced things up considerably.

Also, the idea was floated to keep the equestrian fun going. So by the time Halloween hit, we had four horse-masked foreigners roaming the night.

The problem with the costume is that you cannot speak, nor drink, while wearing the mask. So for much of the night the masks just rested on our heads as we socialized. The funnest part was probably walking into a convenience store and buying a beer, in full horse mode.

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I just took a look at last November's blog posts. In one, I noted that nearly all JETs travel during the winter break, and the fact that I had no plans was surprising for nearly everyone. Last Christmas I did just stay in Ise. Fortunately there were a few friends around, but I certainly did miss the normal routine. This year I'll be back in Oregon for two weeks over the holiday.

Another post from November 2007 complained that my apartment was devoid of furniture. I talked about a "couch crisis." Not long after, I had purchased a sofa-bed. But a year later the sofa bed has been designated as a bed only, moved into the bedroom, and the main room is once again a work in progress. The current plan involves a new area rug and a load of pillows around the low, Japanese style table. We shall see how it works.

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Now, I'm looking at a weekend pub quiz. If we somehow win, we earn a cash prize. Next weekend, Yamasho celebrates its 100-year anniversary with a ceremony downtown. Beyond that, no other big events before the Oregon trip. Then it'll be another new year's even in Japan (not sure where yet) followed by a certain deadline: to re-contract or not to re-contract. No real progress on that yet.

That's all for now.