Happy Halloween!

In keeping with the theme of the title, here are some very scary pictures I took with my phone to give you some... um... halloween fright.

This is crab miso soup, crab intact. I couldn't believe my eyes when this came out, I kept giggling until my face turned red and my eyes watered. (it LOOKS like a HAND!!!) Takeshi assured me it was very tasty and when I couldn't eat it, shook his head. "What a waste!" He said, taking it from me and slurping it down. Wow, every time I think I've gotten over any possible culture shock, something throws me a curve...	What? You don't think this is scary? Ok, take a look at the price tag. Yes, that's way too many zeros at the end for a melon to cost. *disclaimer*: this is not a normal price, this is the legendary $300 department store melon. I have also witnessed the mythical square watermelon (it was real!!) , so neither of them are myths. You can get melons for under $10 at the grocery store. Still pricey, but I don't like melon anyway. Fuji apples, persimmons and mikans (tangerines) are way better in my opinion.

Update! News flash! Here are some loose ends to wrap up from previous blogs.

• The bug trees are still up! I went past, and there was a sign posted saying a meeting will be held about whether or not the trees will stay up on November 5th. Good luck, trees! ^^
  
• Kim came up and we saw the fourth annual international taiko contest. It was great! There was actually only one international team, and that was 'TAIKO PROJECT' from LA. I knew they'd be good, because for the one year I was on LMU's taiko team, we went to a workshop they held. These guys are athletes!! They were so energetic, and added flair and style to traditional taiko. Hee hee, I wasn't there for the judging, but I'm pleased to report they took 1st place!
  
• I start work on Tuesday (Nov 1st). I have corresponded with my new boss via email asking him the dress code, who would be training me, etc. I of course wrote these emails in Japanese. He responded by answering all of my questions, and then as a last side note, said:
  "Your Japanese is very cute, and I understand what you mean, but before you send anything outside of the company, please have it proofread." As an attatchment he included my email with all of the mistakes (there were a lot!) in RED, and corrected everything.
  *shudder*. It made me suddenly wish I could burrow into the ground and hide there for about a year. Damn! Now I know the flip side of my joy of reading engrish! What goes around comes around, I suppose... ooooh that's embarrassing O_o!

thank you for reading. now back to the pictures!

Eye of newt... This is one of our pet newts. They are over 10 years old, and still extremely energetic. They keep trying to crawl out of their aquarium. Apparently Takeshi got them when he was in elementary school. "Wow, you must keep great care of them!" I said. Takeshi replied nonchalantly..."Nah, they just won't die."	Ah, engrish, you're so cute. This was inside a gondola that rides above an amusement park close to our town. But please tell me, they aren't actually *wishing* for an emergency, are they??

sweet!

I did it! I passed the interview and got myself hired as a (mainly java) programmer! The company's name is Genoa (www.genoa.biz) and I'll start working on the 1st of november.

I've been hard at work preparing by
1) buying a book called 'office japanese'
2) occasionally glancing at it, thinking 'I should study..'
3)dropping said book, rolling over, and sleeping as long as possible. I could now scientificaly be classified as a type of human-slug hybrid.
Shouldn't I be worried? I'll be working at a Japanese company as the only foreigner!! ... Why yes, my friends, I AM worried. I have seen the future, and it does NOT involve sleeping past noon. This worries me. Better sleep as much as possible while I can! ^^

Right, coming along then. Other points of interest:

• Takeshi and I are planning our wedding! If you would like to help plan, check out preparations, etc, there is a wedding blog I've set up. Check it out!
• Stef pointed out on her blog that something amusing happens if you type in the word 'failure' or the phrase 'miserable failure' into google and click 'I'm Feeling Lucky'. It turns out google is well aware of this and has written an article about it. Apparently if you make a link to something with a phrase, the link gets boosted in google's relevency ranking algorithm. It's called 'googlebombing', and Wikipedia has a nice little entry on how its done. So,I too shall do my part with the failure googlebomb! ^_~ hee hee.
• I'm getting a lot of visitors soon! This makes me happy. Kim (friend from the days at Sophia University) is coming up to Tokyo and has invited me along to see a huge Taiko contest this weekend! I used to be in the Taiko club at LMU so I'm very excited ^^. Dad is coming at the end of October, for three days... I don't know how he'll remain conscious with so much jetlag!! Julia Nolan is coming out for thanksgiving, we'll see if we can get some american tradition into this tatami-laden apartment.

Speaking of American Tradition, it's gonna be Halloween soon! hehe, stores (of course, what else) are decorating halloween style, but no one really knows what its about over here. Some places are selling pumpkins, but they're super expensive (like $15!!) crazy. I think I will carve a kabocha and see how it turns out. ^^

see ya later!
PS For all those of you who have not been reading my comic(for shame!), I am including this link to Gemini: The Best Comic EVER!! ^_^