Saturday, May 24, 2008

End of April Photos Up

So I still haven't had time to write about the end of April (when mom, dad, Cecilia and Brenda visited), but I have posted some pictures on Facebook, so check them out!

- Quarter of a Century (22-23 Apr - birthday pics)
- Oirase Gorge (22 Apr - not many pics since I've been there so many times)
- Hirosaki (24 Apr - the most famous sakura in Aomori Prefecture, probably)
- Homecooked Dinner (24 Apr - quiet dinner at home since everyone was pooped)
- Kanchogai Dori & Sakagami's (25 Apr - the last day for everyone to be in Towada)

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Almost Furnished!

I bought two sofas (a 3-seater and a 2-seater), a TV stand, a bookshelf, and many small things (garbage cans, a dish rack, etc.) at the Jusco today. It was a lot of cash to shell out in one day (luckily tomorrow's pay day!) but at least I got a 5% discount, plus points by using my WAON card (a quick pay card you can load up to 20,000 yen onto).

The sofas and bookshelf (it was too long to fit into my car) should be delivered either May 31st or June 1st, so my place isn't going to be fully furnished until right when I move in, but I figure that's for the best since I still want to do cleaning before all the furniture is in.

I'm a little worried that the sofas are too big for the limited amount of space I have, but since they're doubling as beds and I wanted to have something for a guest to sleep one, they had to be fairly large.... Ah well. I'm sure it'll all work out somehow (although I suspect we may have to move them in through the window rather than the door!)

Saturday, May 17, 2008

This is my Happy Dance!!

o(^-^o)(o^-^)o o(^-^o)(o^-^)o o(^-^o)(o^-^)o o(^-^o)(o^-^)oo(^-^o)(o^-^)o o(^-^o)(o^-^)o

So after Sports Day preparation today (yes, I went to school on a non-event day Saturday voluntarily!), Tomabechi-sensei took me to Yamada Denki in Hachinohe to check out prices for a washer-dryer combo and fridge.

To make a long story short, I ended up getting a brand new front-loading (or "drum-type" as they call it in Japanese) washer-dryer combo!! I LOVE it!! I can press a single button to set it to wash AND dry (or to just wash, or just dry), plus it even tells me exactly how much detergent I need for the load! There's also a timer, so I can set the time when I want the laundry to finish and it will start it automatically!! It's so BEAUTIFUL!!!! It was a little more expensive (~20,000 yen or $200) than the older model I saw at the Shimoda Jusco (like a Japanese Wal-Mart), but it's a slightly higher end brand and it's better designed and easier to use!

I also bought a fridge. It's pretty standard, except that I can choose which direction I want the door to open--very important since I want it to open towards the left, which is NOT standard!!

And although I was planning on waiting, since the prices at the shop were so reasonable/good, but I didn't think I could be bothered to try to find it on my own, I also bought a 20" Panasonic LCD TV! (Not a necessity by any stretch of the imagination, but nice since my new place is pretty small.)

Everything will be delivered on Mon. May 26th (free delivery)!

The warranties on the washer-dryer and TV last for 5 years, and it's 3 years for the fridge, so I guess I need to stay on as a JET for the maximum 5 years to get the most out of my purchases? =P Well, at the very least I suspect that (unless something goes horribly and drastically wrong this year) I will probably stay for 3 years total (i.e. another 2 years)!

All in all, I'm quite thrilled with the day's purchases. (You can probably tell that I'm happiest about the washer-dryer, though.) Best of all, if my calculations are correct, I should have just missed the statement period for this month (on my credit card), so I hopefully won't have to pay for everything until the beginning of JULY! (Giving me a lot more breathing room budget-wise.)

Friday, May 16, 2008

Not a Golden Week Update

Sorry, I still haven't had time to sit down and a) sort through my photos; or b) write anything about my various travels throughout Golden Week.

This is just a quick note to say that I purchased a table and four chairs, plus a computer desk (I didn't realize it came with a roll-y chair too!) from a recycle shop today! Including delivery, it cost me 256,000, which is pretty good, I think. (Having never purchased such furniture before, I can't be sure.)

The funny thing is even though I spent a lot of time measuring various things in my new apartment, the one thing I forgot to measure was the door width! When the delivery guys came, it turned out that the kitchen table wouldn't fit through the door! Luckily I'm on the ground floor and have a big set of windows/sliding doors facing the parking lot, so we were able to get it in that way.

I wonder, though, if I'm going to have to move everything--the sofas I'm planning on buying, the washer/dryer, fridge, etc.--through the window, since the door is ridiculously narrow: 70cm!

Oh well. I'm sure it will all work out somehow!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Tokyo, Singapore & Malaysia (The Short Version)

Tokyo: Walked a lot, shopped a lot, and had a lot of fun! The Ghibli Museum was AMAZING! If I lived closer, I would go there at least once a month!

Singapore: Scorching hot & humid. Did a lot of shopping, mostly books and (English subtitled) Japanese TV series.

Malaysia: Visited a lot of relatives. Ate WAY too much. Did a lot of shopping, mostly books and (English subtitled) Japanese TV series.

Summary: Am very tired and have a lot of laundry and "stuff" sorting to do! Will write more when I have recovered.