Okay, people…I know it’s been a while, and—okay, I say that all the time. Here’s how we’re gonna play it. It’s a new school year. That means new contract, new school, new plans, new way of wearing my hair…whole lotta newness. That said, we must acknowledge the fact that there are a lot of stories I’m gonna have to skip. I am not going back and fillin’ you in on the last whatever amount of days it’s been because…well, that’s in the past, and you don’t need to worry about it. Plus I’d experienced yet another phase of “the twenties” that I refuse to write about.

Anyway, let’s cover the recent stuff, k? Sister, Megan, came to Japan. I was terrified that something might go wrong, i.e., her meeting my Japanese family and hating them. Lucky for me, that ain’t happen. But what DID happen was what I expected. She hated Tokyo. I mean, I’ll tell y’all right now that Tokyo sucks. A lot. Like…it’s the worst place in Japan, much like I consider NYC to be quite possibly the worst place in America. Some people like big cities. We don’t. Some people think metropolitan areas are where you go to find the culture of a nation. We don’t. Some people have to ability to handle crowded places and loud people without feeling totally drained afterward. We…don’t. You gettin’ the picture here? Tokyo is the big ol’ city where all the foreigners and Japanese people go because they think more people = more culture. Eff…that…noise.

Meanwhile, my sister liked my lil’ “farmtown”, and agrees…there’s an eerie Florida-ishness to this place. And it’s…stealthy. Sneaks up on ya in weird places, smells, and flavors.

I do need to apologize to my sister’s friend, Trudy, who was quite miserable during certain parts of the trip. I intended to warn her about the oncoming truth: the focus was going to be on my sister, because she is MY sister, and the people here really want to know about things connected to me. So, poor Trudy got pushed to the wayside, much to my dismay. I tried to balance things as best as I can, but, ya know…yeah. So, sorry, Trudy. Didn’t get to warn ya ‘bout that one. Tell you what…you no longer owe me a camera for that “swole” comment on my MySpace, k? I think we’re even now.

Anyway, Megan and Trudy got to meet some of my best Japanese friends, including a restaurant owner named Hideki, a cool digital artist named Akira, and my Japanese family, who once again came through with the food. Crab and some really good rice and…man. I wish we could’ve stayed longer, but the poor girls were dying. And I sorta narrowly escaped too long a meeting between my sister and The Daughter. Though, I wasn’t even worried about that. I kinda wish they had gotten to talk longer. Shoot, she barely eve—no, she didn’t even speak any English! Must’ve been tired. But apparently, she was impressed by how much Japanese I’d picked up. Whatever. The funniest part is that The Daughter’s cousin, a dude named Yudai, seemed absolutely entranced by the two women I brought with me. But, ya know…the whole time I was very happy. In that room were some of the people I apparently value the most, which…makes no sense in some cases because I barely know them! But everyone was talking and laughing, and…I dunno, it just made me feel very…warm. Usually, when I try to bring two of my many worlds together, all we get is chaos and awkwardness, or a big ol’ testosterone contest (Matt…Scott), but this time it all gelled. Even Trudy began to feel better it seemed, and The Father was havin’ a good ol’ time trying to pronounce her name. I do hope we get to repeat that dinner sometime. Maybe my mother or father will be there as well next time, if I can trick them into coming here.

In other news, all the old ALTs done gone and left. That means Will, Andrew and Scott, whose real names are Billy, Aaron and Sean are aaaaaaall gone. I’m the last one…which hit me after we dropped Billy off at the airport. But, now, James is here. James is a friend from way back, thoroughly tied into the Nina debacle, and fully equipped with a crazy Mel story of his own! (Blasted monks) James and I are now the Twin Towers of Chikusei City. I’ve got him beat by a centimeter or two, but remember, I’m freakishly tall. One or two centimeters does not diminish James’ towerocity by one bit. I know the kids will love him.

Back in FL, my friend Matt Pena has begun working at FullSail, in my old position! I’m very happy about this. That is an awesome place to work, and there isn’t a day that I’m here that I don’t wish I could still be there, goofing off with the friends I made while I was there. I know they said I always have a job upon my return, but I always feel guilty for leaving in the first place, and worse for every moment I decide to stay longer. C’est la vie.

Let’s talk about the future now. I’m starting at a new school. I’ve no clue what to expect. Could be fun, could be horrible. Whatever. Either way, I’ll roll with it, and come out on top. I’ll also be teaching three eikaiwas, teaching at a high school on Saturday mornings, and doing a language exchange with a friend of mine. I’m studying Japanese with more fervor than ever before. And now that James is here, I have someone who won’t let me make the excuse of, “Well, they don’t speak any Japanese and seem to get along JUST fine.” On top of that, in some weird stroke of luck, James and I went to a meeting with the school board, and ended up with gym memberships. Yeah, you heard that cracking sound, right? That was your sense of logic…snapping in two. This is where I’m supposed to repair it, but…nah. Just let it be known that you’re gonna see a repeat of last year. We are officially in…Week One. I will exercise like a madman until my birthday. That’s six months from now. This exercise will be accompanied by extensive Japanese study, hopefully resulting in something around Level 2 Proficiency in the language. I’d aim for Level 1, but…I like breathing. Level 1 will be reserved for next year. Trust me…Level 2 is enough of a challenge. But I’m doin’ okay. Huge holes remain in my current knowledge, and I need to go back and patch them up, and vocabulary will ALWAYS be my weak point…which tells me what I must do to truly grow. Wish me luck again, folks. And don’t worry, I’m not talking about yet another six months of chicken and spinach…gawd. But I’ll probably end up really REALLY hating tofu after all this is over. Good thing it ain’t got no flavor!

I’m looking at the next year with a lot of excitement. Despite my daunting schedule, I feel no real pressure…ya know, other than the fact that my friends will never see me. They’ll tough it out though, right? Right! Remember friends, Sunday is the day. You wanna hang with me? Sunday. That’s my day of rest and relaxation. Or you can come to the gym with me. Thems your choices. I’m here to grow, and I’ve found my means. Let me do my thing.

D