USA! USA! USA!

I live and breathe soccer.
It's 3 AM and I have been jumping/running around my apartment, screaming with my mouth closed because my neighbors (I'm sure) just HATE ME during this time. USA Women's have won in PK's and it was soooo dramatic - aka it was pathetic the way Brazil tried to cheat to win this game -- what is it with the US and terrible calls in soccer?! Yesterday at this same time, Japan won when no one thought it was possible. If the US could meet Japan in the World Cup finals it would make my year. I am very proud of BOTH of my nations.
We had a big earthquake this morning, but I slept through it. If Japan decides to have another big one, chances are I'll be sleeping through that one too.
Currently NOW, it's 3:30 AM and the sun is juuust starting to rise. Yes, at 3:30 it starts getting light out outside in Japan. That bothers me. Especially when I'm going crazy over a soccer game half a world away :)

Aunt Jenni - remember your concern about 'smelly egg farts?'

Wow, hi everyone commenting!! :)
So yesterday morning, my landlord (who is also my student) came over with a repair man to fix my shower fan. It had a malfunction or something. Anyway, she brought breakfast because she's concerned that I never cook and just eat CRAP.
It wasn't really cooking. We had egg salad, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, ham and cheese on bread. Very delicious but I remember why I hate cooking.... there were so many dishes to wash! Not to mention the counter. Ah well, it's healthy.
My shower is also a clothes dryer. Yep. There's a switch and I have to hang my clothes on a drying rack, but I hit that switch and hot air is blown through the room. For the record, I had been hitting that button while I showered because I thought it was the fan. It IS a fan - but I noticed it was incredibly hot by the time I was done showering. And now I know why, and my landlord thought that was cute. I always look so stupid to these people.

2 weeks of sleeplessness down the DRAIN.

I am utterly exhausted. Miraculously I woke up at 2:50 AM last night to hear Nancy Grace shouting that a verdict was in. So naturally I stayed awake, called my mom and otherwise FREAKED OUT. But then it came back 'not guilty' and my adrenaline didn't die down until 5 am where I fell asleep to the daylight. Yep, as the verdict was being read, the sun was juuust rising. Very pretty sunrise, and my first to ever see in Japan because it occurs at 3:30 AM. Today I woke up at 9 so I got about 4 hours of sleep last night.
Thanks jury. I want to  hug  STRANGLE each and every one of you for making my last 2 weeks of SLEEPLESSNESS   WORTHWHILE - oh no, wait. You DIDN'T!
Now my job is to tell all of my advanced classes all about the horrendous 'justice' system in the United States. I say we turn to Japan's justice system... which is pretty much the same thing, only for the death penalty, you're HUNG. Really barbaric but I admire that. Probably why there's hardly any crime in this country!
Was anyone else just completely depressed today? Maybe it was just me because I actually had a reason to wish it was just a bad dream.
Yep, that's it. Nuttin' on Japan today. Except that they still hang people for their crimes.

PLEASE, someone tell me when the verdict is in! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE TIME.

VERDICT WATCH: DAY 2.
That's really all I got. Oh!! Wait so today I bought an 'onigiri' of sorts and it was fantastic. All of these normally contain salmon or fish eggs or natto (ewww -barf-) and my co-worker, Azusa was at Family Mart with me so I asked all these questions. This particular onigiri had chicken and some veggies... which didn't taste weird at all! (Eh, minus the seaweed wrapped around it.)

And then, Japan has GREAT salads... just like my dad makes 'em, with tuna fish. BUT. It wouldn't kill this country to invest in some salad dressing... of ANY kind...

PS- eating a salad with chopsticks is impossibly hard and I'm glad I ate alone because I dropped about half my salad on the table (which was not eaten, because tables have lots of germs!)

*And cute fact: you know when two people say the same thing at the same time, we say jinx!? well in Japan they say 'happy ice cream,' and whoever doesn't say that first buys the other person ice cream. I LOVE IT.

Crank the speakers on this one!

Since yesterday so miserably unproductive, today I set out with purpose... by the way, happy 4th of July - and no, Japan definitely does NOT celebrate this holiday.
I went to two of my favorite stores: Happy Drug and the nearest 100 Yen shop. Happy Drug doesn't really sell drugs, it's a grocery store. But a kind of crappy one because they don't sell fruit or veggies. Although you can get those all over little "Mom and Pop" stores. Still, it's a pain. I didn't actually buy groceries, but kitchen ware. So, off to the 100 Yen shop.
I bought so much crap. A little elephant watering can for my tiny plants, cushions for my balcony chairs, more kitchen ware (people, I officially have enough things to make spaghetti and scrambled eggs.... which I plan on making ONE of those today). HAD to buy some cups because one of them fell off the shelf and shattered (I'm still finding little pieces of glass in the sink) and these have fantastic Engrish.
While I was shopping this song came on the speakers. I'm trying to think of a cartoon of equal fame in America and I guess it'd be Spongebob. So this would be like hearing a Spongebob song playing on KISS 107 or any of the other pop channels. I actually sat there and listened because I couldn't believe they'd play a song about a cartoon where old people shop.

I was proud of myself because I knew the words I heard were:
Pokemon no namae ietanara.
and I could look it up when I came home and find it!
THIS SONG BELONGS IN DANCE CLUBS BECAUSE IT'S SO COOL.

Eh, gettin' kinda bored!

Have you ever wanted to ask, "Wow Melissa, what did you do in Japan today?!"
Well, here's your lucky response:
Today I woke up thinking it was 12 when it was 10. I fed the fish. Opened all the windows because it was still cool outside and watched Pokemon. Old school Pokemon - aka the GOOD Pokemon, what I watched when I was a wee little tween. Besides falling asleep in the middle of a few episodes, I watched quite a few. Made some Mac and Cheese which was fantastic (Thanks Aunt Jenni!!!)!
And then around 6 I thought I should do SOMETHING productive with my life and went and bought bread, milk, eggs, water and spaghetti sauce (because 24 hour ATM's don't exist here, I had to buy the important stuff and it's supposed to rain like crazy tomorrow). Then I came home and fed the fish and decided to watch some MORE Pokemon. But then I remembered the end of the Casey Anthony trial is today, and I immediately turned that on. All in all, I watched 25 episodes of Pokemon.
TWENTY-FIVE.
The fish aren't saving me from boredom and I'm tired of cleaning EVERY WEEKEND. Hey - don't judge, yesterday I swept the balcony outside my bedroom and ended up sweeping half the dirt under the divider to the neighbors balcony because it's impossible to get it all in the sweeper holder thing. Plus, then I did laundry and dishes!
But, today was embarrassing, I will admit to it. So please, if you're ever going to send Melissa a box, consider sending a small basketball hoop I can hang on the wall, or over the door, and a tiny basketball to play with... or darts... OR JUST ANY KIND OF TOYS.
I'm so BORED on days like this. And I've completely exhausted the Angry Birds games...

Not completely alone.

My only true friend here in my city has LEFT ME for a bit. But in her place, she left me 2 new friends! REAL PETS. Not Tamagotchi's!

Meet Plop and Specks.

Specks is orange, but he has a few white scales. And Plop is easy to spot... because his stomach is HUUUGE.

And those brown rocks? Aren't rocks, their snails. There's a small ARMY of them at the top, but I have no time to name like, 20 snails.
Specks reminds me of my old fish, Rex. I MISS YOU REX!!!!!! Here's hoping they live until at least July 13th!