Adventure on the (Over) Seas

So I was planning on writing a nice long update about what has been going on in my world the past little while but some new bigger news takes precedent. On Friday I was headed out to Nagano with Ultan when I decided enough was enough, I had to mail my boss and speak to her about next year. She still had not spoken to me about next year. I wrote and asked what her thoughts were on my employment for next year. We set up a meeting for the following Tuesday as Monday was a holiday.
We met and she told me without saying it that she wanted me to come back the following year. I then surprised her by telling her I only wanted to stay around for another six months. She told me she would think about it and let me know. On Thursday she came and told me that she wants to hire someone to start in April. So I am unemployed at the end of March. I am really disappointed because Karate is going extremely well and I am really enjoying my time in Iwaki even if it is a little quiet. The summer is the best time to be here cause the waves are pumping all summer and work is pretty awesome.
I am not sure what I am going to do but I am sure something will come to mind before too long...

Two weekends ago I went out to Nagano for a wild weekend of snowboarding and getting lost! Ultan and I left Iwaki almost right after work on Friday and we arrived at my friends place about 2:30 AM. After a couple of hours sleep we rocked off for Hakuba for a fun filled day of snowboarding. The snow was not fantastic but we still managed to enjoy ourselves. We rode this untouched rock face that we had to ourselves pretty much all day. It took some hiking to get into but it was well worth it. On the way back we stopped in at the onsen and relaxed for a bit.
That night we met up with a bunch of people including my Korean boy Alex. He came up from Tokyo to meet up with us. After excess amounts of drinking including an entertaining encounter with some chick at the bar. It is ridiculous how easy it is to meet women in this country! I was being a good boy but it was quite hilarious chatting it up in broken English. We got home real late and slept in a little bit Sunday. When we finally left to hit up Nozawa Onsen we were well behind the others. I took a couple of wrong turns and when we finally got sorted out the snow was falling and we were on a tiny back country road lost. The Chick is not outfitted with snow tires so a couple of times Alex had to jump out and push us up the hill. Finally after about 30 minutes on this back road I was forced to turn back because quite frankly I was too scared to go any further. I back up and the only thing that saved us from going over the edge of the road and the 50 meter drop was the snowbank. Alex seemed to be enjoying himself but I was sweating buckets. I have never been that scared in my life when driving and I have taken to the roads in horrific weather back home. After getting ourselves sorted out we got to the ski hill about half noon. I was lucky enough to score a $10 ticket. Someone was leaving so they sold me their ticket. The way it works is there is a small token that you must put somewhere on your body that allows you to ride the lift. There is a $10 deposit for the token and I paid $20 for it so it worked out really well... We got in some pretty impressive runs and the snow was starting to fall which was awesome. The conditions were quite awesome. So many sick sick runs complete with some back country riding. Off the hook...
Since the powder was falling so nicely we decided to come back here on Monday and one of Ultan's friends even called in sick to ride an extra day. The second day was epic again! I got separated from the fellas at about 12 but I ended up riding with a couple of pro riders and a few Canadians all afternoon. I was stoked! The cool thing about this ski resort town is that all the onsens (public baths) are owned by the town so they are free. After a day of riding nothing beats a hot bath. Ultan's mate caught the bus outta Nozawa Onsen and the two of us hit the road again. We made some pretty decent time before we made a wrong turn... After that we just decided to jump on the highway even though its expensive sometimes it well worth it cause there is so little traffic and its direct.

The week went by quickly cause it was craft day for half the week. We made Valentine's Day crafts which were pretty easy but managed to cut my teaching time in half each class. I also cleaned up on Valentine's this year. I can always count on one Valentine each year from my mom. Most years that all I get but this year I cleaned up. I had a big shopping bag full of chocolates that I took home. I have been quietly redistributing to girls in the city.

"Here sweetie I bought you some chocolate..."

Kae and I just hung out at my place that night and cooked some dinner. Okanomiaki, a sort of pancake dish. It was pretty awesome. We decided not to exchange gifts but rather just spend a little bit of time together. I was relieved! The bankbook is taking a beating with these weekend trips out snowboarding. Overall though it was a stellar Valentine's day this year.

This past weekend was a craft day at Kindergarten and I brought Kae along to hang out and meet some of my students. Sadly my co-worker told me that I could not hang out with her. She could simply walk around and look at the crafts and then wait in the teachers room. I was furious! Kae waited in the car and I left as soon as I could which still took a while. Turns out even though it was craft day the Japanese teachers still considered it a serious work day... A load of BS if you ask me! I am most unhappy with her about that and she is well aware of it.

Karate is going really well but I am very sad to be leaving the crew. At my last practice I am going to be introduced to the Iwaki Dojo Original Challenge... Ten, two minute rounds. Each round is a different opponent so I will fight everyone in the dojo at least once. The last two rounds are Hiroshi and then Sakumoto Sensei. I am scared to say the least. My body will be sore for at least a week after that I am sure. So Vegas is gonna hurt! The fellas were all laughing but I was shaking when they were talking about it...

So a little uncertainty over here but from I am thinking this is an opportunity to make a good change for my life. Perhaps I will try for a business job in Tokyo. Otherwise the world is my oyster!!!
Stay well...