A wide-ranging post of things and news

When I found out I was coming to Ise way back in the early summer of 2007, I started trying to the plug in to the community here. It was part of my time-killing exercise in that pre-departure, post-graduation summer. I graduated -- one giant exhale, but I was about to move to Japan -- an inward breath for sure.

One of the ways I tried to get pre-connected with Ise was reading the blogs of the ALTs who were already placed there. At the time I noticed that most of the blogs started off with many posts in the beginning, only to peter off over time to the point where a single post in a month was not uncommon.

I scoffed at this non-bloggery and told myself I'd never fall that far. Well, I was wrong.

Now my blog looks much like the blogs of those now-moved-away ALTs who gave me my introduction to my tiny bit of Japan.

And I completely understand why.

Ise, Japan, today, is my home. I don't know exactly how long it will be my home, but for now it is everything a home is supposed to be. It does not feel foreign. It isn't strange or mysterious. It's just where I happen to wake up every morning and go to work or meet friends.

In the beginning, in a new place, there's a feeling of excitement. There's a defining period when things take shape, friendships are made, routines established.

So this is my bar. That's my grocery store. Here's my route to the post office.

But that defining period comes to an end, and things become what they are. That's not to say that new things don't occur. New people, new places and new ideas appear on the scene. But as they do, it's just like the new things you face right now back in your home in Portland or Corvallis or New York. It's your life, and it takes place where you are.

The wider point is that I want to blog about things I feel are interesting, in addition to the occasional "what I'm up to" post. And while that day-to-day stuff might be interesting to my close friends and family who aren't here to experience it, it's hard for me, in the middle of it, to pull from daily life what could be a post.

Because as I said, it's all very normal now.

No, I'm not announcing some kind of silly "suspension" of the blog. More so I'm admitting that it probably won't go back to its old form, with a few posts a week. So, for the moment, perhaps you too can ponder the novelty of what's new and the establishment of home.

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As for what I've been up to ... since returning form the winter trip to Oregon, I've been out and about nearly every weekend night. There were birthday parties, dinners out, marathon karaoke nights and movie nights that give way to late-night ramen runs. All in all that means lots of fun but also lots of cash.

Looking ahead, I'm hoping to make a ski trip some time in February.

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Looking further ahead, I'm now pretty sure that I'm going to re-contract and stay with this job for a third (and final) year. While I'm excited about moving on, to graduate school, perhaps, I'm not yet sure what school or program I'd like to try for. So instead of rushing a decision or just going home and searching for a job, I'm going to stay with what I've got here, enjoy it for a year, try to add in some other goals, and see what develops.

That pushes the end of my time at this school to the summer of 2010.

It has not been easy to decide, and 2010 seems so far off, but I'm enjoying myself here and I'm just not quite ready for what's next, since I don't know just what will be next.

So sure, I've buried the lead. Guess I'm getting rusty in journalism.