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parasitegirlI've got the day off today, national holiday.
I've already gone into Kashiwa and had my hair color retouched and done some minor shopping. I picked up a frog closure for a pinstripe turkish vest I made for my cabaret-cabaret costume for when I'm lounging about at the end of the year show. I also picked up a new pair of jeans because one of my regular pairs is about to self destruct after 3-4 years of very steady wear.
Buying new jeans means that I'll be taking part of my day off to hem them. Gap jeans fit me almost perfectly (Express jeans fit me better, and come in short lengths, but there isn't an Express in Japan) but always require hemming. This always makes me wonder at how well Gap items sell here despite the fact they are made for people taller than the average Japanese female.
It also makes me wonder this:
To those of you who don't have rudimentary sewing skills, how the hell do you find ready-made items that fit well? I find that tiny little tucks, extra snaps, and adjustments make a world of difference.
I also ran into Chris, a fellow "Chiba-Wisconsin Sister city program" member at the station. The sister city program landed me my first 3 years as an ALT here in Japan. Chris came a year later and would later work at the international high school I used to work at (but he started that after I had left). Chris is cute and very chummy but has only one topic: Chris. Chris is always in love (the first one in Japan was a department store worker who had another boyfriend but nonetheless drained Chris of the extra thousand dollars a month his family back home sent him...yeah....).
Chris always talks about Chris. Chris asked us for advice on how to keep high school girls from falling in love with him, before he ever taught. Other popular Chris topics include "Don't I look like a high school student?" and "She's the one." Chris once made me have to listen about how he would eventually propose to a woman, it involved white clothing, a beach, and a trained dolphin to present the ring. Chris will get incredible self-conscious for days on end whenever I admit "'Yeah, I sort of assumed you were gay when I met you." which was the only way I entertained myself at yearly Chiba-Wisc weekend-long seminars. Chris fills the bill of "little brother that I didn't want" in how we interact with each other.
"How on Aaaaarth did you recognize me?"
"Because you look exactly the same Chris? I'm the one who is unrecognizable."
Chris is Korean-Japanese by birth and was adopted and raised in northern Wisconsin by Polish-American parents. When I encountered him today I was alarmed at how his fake British-Aussie-NZ accent (the accent has global roaming) has increased in intensity but not authenticity over the last 2-3 years. We caught up for a while...and I tried to be on my best behavior, but I eventually had to start asking.
"Dude, Chris, the FUCK is up with your accent? You're from Northern Wisconsin! I KNOW what you should sound like. You should sound like me but more so!"
"I know, it's gotten waaaaaaaaaaaarse haaasn't it?"
"Uh, yeah, It makes it very hard for me to listen to you."
We exchanged cards, I gave him my "you just shit on the table" look (I know some of you know the look) when he made that horrible gesture some people make when they think they are mimicing the sexy dance of the belly, and I scurried off.
I've already gone into Kashiwa and had my hair color retouched and done some minor shopping. I picked up a frog closure for a pinstripe turkish vest I made for my cabaret-cabaret costume for when I'm lounging about at the end of the year show. I also picked up a new pair of jeans because one of my regular pairs is about to self destruct after 3-4 years of very steady wear.
Buying new jeans means that I'll be taking part of my day off to hem them. Gap jeans fit me almost perfectly (Express jeans fit me better, and come in short lengths, but there isn't an Express in Japan) but always require hemming. This always makes me wonder at how well Gap items sell here despite the fact they are made for people taller than the average Japanese female.
It also makes me wonder this:
To those of you who don't have rudimentary sewing skills, how the hell do you find ready-made items that fit well? I find that tiny little tucks, extra snaps, and adjustments make a world of difference.
I also ran into Chris, a fellow "Chiba-Wisconsin Sister city program" member at the station. The sister city program landed me my first 3 years as an ALT here in Japan. Chris came a year later and would later work at the international high school I used to work at (but he started that after I had left). Chris is cute and very chummy but has only one topic: Chris. Chris is always in love (the first one in Japan was a department store worker who had another boyfriend but nonetheless drained Chris of the extra thousand dollars a month his family back home sent him...yeah....).
Chris always talks about Chris. Chris asked us for advice on how to keep high school girls from falling in love with him, before he ever taught. Other popular Chris topics include "Don't I look like a high school student?" and "She's the one." Chris once made me have to listen about how he would eventually propose to a woman, it involved white clothing, a beach, and a trained dolphin to present the ring. Chris will get incredible self-conscious for days on end whenever I admit "'Yeah, I sort of assumed you were gay when I met you." which was the only way I entertained myself at yearly Chiba-Wisc weekend-long seminars. Chris fills the bill of "little brother that I didn't want" in how we interact with each other.
"How on Aaaaarth did you recognize me?"
"Because you look exactly the same Chris? I'm the one who is unrecognizable."
Chris is Korean-Japanese by birth and was adopted and raised in northern Wisconsin by Polish-American parents. When I encountered him today I was alarmed at how his fake British-Aussie-NZ accent (the accent has global roaming) has increased in intensity but not authenticity over the last 2-3 years. We caught up for a while...and I tried to be on my best behavior, but I eventually had to start asking.
"Dude, Chris, the FUCK is up with your accent? You're from Northern Wisconsin! I KNOW what you should sound like. You should sound like me but more so!"
"I know, it's gotten waaaaaaaaaaaarse haaasn't it?"
"Uh, yeah, It makes it very hard for me to listen to you."
We exchanged cards, I gave him my "you just shit on the table" look (I know some of you know the look) when he made that horrible gesture some people make when they think they are mimicing the sexy dance of the belly, and I scurried off.
