Beckteria

Either you're lame

or I'm stupid. How much time does everyone really spend on My Space? Or is it I can't figure out code? Hmm. Think about it. Maybe I have a life and don't think all that time is really worth it.

You tell me.

posted by Bex @ 9:08 PM 0 comments

I hear the whip cracking

Not really. I have one more lesson to write before tests begin. I have an idea as to what I want to do, but need to see if I can find this specific movie with Japanese subtitles. We`ll see about that....

Yeah, I went to Kobe for a conference last week. It was okay. I actually went to everything and didn`t play tennis on the roof like a lot of other people I know. Some of the workshops were great, but the stuff put on by the government sucked ass. It was boring and irrelevant. 1 hour of Q&A, previously submitted questions. Why not just give us a handout or post it on a website? Stupid.

Anyway, it was nice to get away for a few days and better to back. I missed Osaka. It`s only about 1-1.5 hours away, but it`s the city, baby! Of course, Kobe had a lot of the same things anyway, so it wasn`t much different in a lot of ways. The JET`s that live in the country probably thought it was a big deal. Going from a village (500 people) to Kobe population of about 500,000 is a big difference. But, Osaka and surrounding areas is more like 10 million. So, it`s going to a little town to me. (Yeah, I know I`m from Montana. Fuck off. Just because I`m from there doesn`t mean I`m a country bumpkin. Now you know why I think Minneapolis is tiny.)

I`m back. Breathe the city air. Or suburb air. Whatever.

Back to "planning."

posted by Bex @ 9:59 AM 0 comments

Face plant, again?

I`m so fuckin` tired. No particular reason. I feel like I`m gonna do a face plant, so I thought writing my give some sort of electric kick start to my dead brain. The battery`s worn down. Even my horoscope said that I`ll be in a semi-fog today. Totally am. Totally, dude.

Funny story, well to me at any rate: one of my students said that his birthday is today. Then, he held out his hands and asked for a birthday present--so un-Japanese of him. And I was like, "I don`t have anything" and then I remembered I had some left over balloons. So, I gave him two. I guess today`s his 17th birthday. (Doesn`t that seem like a million years ago to you? Gawd, I`m so frickin` old.) He thought that was pretty cool. Funny. So, his buddy said that it`s his birthday too. I told him, in Japanese, that I didn`t believe him. Good try though.

Later, those two were working together and the birthday boy is a self-proclaimed "funky boy." I have to admit his glasses are pretty funky, in a cool way. Where the hell did he learn funky? The birthday boy said his buddy (a trouble maker by the way) is a "trouble person" in Japanese. I didn`t know if that meant someone who is in trouble, troubled, or a trouble maker. So, I asked in Japanese, "Is that the same thing as a brat?" HAHAHA. As it turns out--which I did know--the trouble maker`s last name sounds very similar to "brat" in Japanese. Good times.　I told him he really is a brat. I mean it too,　but not in a bad way.

Oh my gawd. Everyday these kids say the damnest things to me. Now, back to face planting until I can pass out on the bus ride home.

posted by Bex @ 2:14 PM 0 comments

Ironic

Okay, finally some free time. I`ve been keeping busy with various things lately, but unfortunately not studying as much as I should be. Oops.

Anyways, one of the part-time English teachers that I work with is a HUGE American history buff. In particular, he`s into the "wild west" kind of deal--Oregon Trail and such. My knowledge of even Montana history is sorely lacking. He asked me about Choteau, Montana. First of all, I spelled it incorrectly. It`s a county seat and I couldn`t remember anything about it. As it turns out, here`s what I learned "yielded more information about dinosaur biology during the Cretaceous period than any other paleontology dig in the world," (http://russell.visitmt.com/dinosaurs/eggmountain.htm).

Terrible. This guy knows way more about the west`s history than I do and I`m a frickin` 5th generation Montanan. Hahaha. I should`ve known the county seat of Teton County. I bet my dad could tell you what the county number is too (it`s always displayed on the Montana license plate). I certainly can`t name all 54 counties and their seats. Bad Montanan!

This is starting to make me think I should ask the parents to send me some books on Montana history and geography. A few weeks ago, the same teacher asked me why Anacoda, Montana is named like the snake. All I can say is thank gawd for wikipedia!

Oh the irony never stops...

My teachers always ask me about grammatical questions, hell, I`m starting to lose touch with correct English. Everything sounds pretty good after awhile. I don`t talk to many native English speakers and we all are experiencing English degradation as a group, so... We all suck at English. And that`s why they hired us. Hmm.

posted by Bex @ 9:04 AM 0 comments

Lame? Maybe....

So, it's Tuesday, I'm at home when I could be out drinking. I have the next 5 days off for "Golden Week" and yet, I'm at home, typing to y'all. Why? 'Cause I'm lame? Maybe. I don't know. But, I'm waiting for dinner to finish cooking. I'm also trying to decide what to do for the next few days off. So, I ask myself what the hell you'd all be doing if you were here. Museums? Nara? Kobe? Kyoto? Amusement parks? Shopping? Hmmm. There are so many possibilities.

What would you do? I'm thinking about seeing some Monets one of the days and shopping in Nara another. I'm going to Kobe in a couple of weeks for a conference, so I can go back to China town if I so desire at that time. I'm scheduled for karaoke tomorrow night.... Shit, I'm really bad at planning these things. My friends seem equally as bad at it. Maybe 5/5 I'll pop into a Mexican restaurant to celebrate with some margaritas or mojitos.

Damn it! Make up your mind! Tonight, I plan my attack!

posted by Bex @ 9:21 PM 1 comments