![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Back in the saddle again
Oct. 18th, 2014 14:01I unpacked my suitcase for the first time in six months yesterday and it was awesome.
Yes, I'm back in Japan, this time for what passes for good in my world, namely just under a year. I got in without any problems worth mentioning on Thursday, except that we'd been delayed an hour in Seattle, so by the time I got in it was too late to get to the housing office to get the key to my apartment before it closed, so I used my handy-dandy portable wifi hotspot, which I decided to rent instead of going through the cell phone malarkey (more of that anon) to book a night at an airport hotel, breakfast included, for ¥10,000. It wasn't even the best deal I could have gotten, but it was pretty darn good, particularly since the exchange rate is now favorable to those of us getting paid in dollars, but it's so nice to have the resources to solve at least some problems with money.
On Friday morning I headed back to Komaba and got my apartment--it's so large! And by "large" I mean "25.2 m^2", but for one person, that is pretty ginormous, and it comes with all appliances, and I was able to rent bedding on the spot (it's quite overpriced, but I'd rather pay ¥18,000 for bedding for ten months than have to a) buy my own and then b) get rid of it frantically at the end of my stay. I'm willing to do a lot to avoid dealing with the trash laws in Japan). I think the building also has insulation, which is pretty amazing. There are trees outside my balcony and I have a direct view to Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Tower, which is basically all you can ask for in Tokyo. The building internet appears to be a joke for which they are charging ¥14,000 a month, but this is the other virtue of the wifi hotspot. Even with all that, my rent is less than $800 a month, which is just ridiculous.
Meanwhile it's autumn, and it's been four years since I've done autumn, and it's…going to take some readjustment. I love autumn, but autumn in Japan also makes me miss Kyoto. Part of the reason I miss Kyoto right now, I admit, is because I know where everything is after having lived there for more than a year, whereas I need to go on a quest to find a grocery store nearby as soon as Kuroneko delivers my other two suitcases this afternoon. This too shall pass, but I do want to get back to Kyoto as soon as possible.
I'm already worried about making a schedule to get work done, which I think is good; I'm going to Australia in a week and a half, however, which means that I'm just going to focus on administrative stuff for the next week rather than trying to frantically do too much. Australia should give me a good chance to focus on my dissertation and be re-energized for it, which is also good. In the meantime, I get to unpack MORE suitcases! Too bad there aren't any shelves in the closet…
Yes, I'm back in Japan, this time for what passes for good in my world, namely just under a year. I got in without any problems worth mentioning on Thursday, except that we'd been delayed an hour in Seattle, so by the time I got in it was too late to get to the housing office to get the key to my apartment before it closed, so I used my handy-dandy portable wifi hotspot, which I decided to rent instead of going through the cell phone malarkey (more of that anon) to book a night at an airport hotel, breakfast included, for ¥10,000. It wasn't even the best deal I could have gotten, but it was pretty darn good, particularly since the exchange rate is now favorable to those of us getting paid in dollars, but it's so nice to have the resources to solve at least some problems with money.
On Friday morning I headed back to Komaba and got my apartment--it's so large! And by "large" I mean "25.2 m^2", but for one person, that is pretty ginormous, and it comes with all appliances, and I was able to rent bedding on the spot (it's quite overpriced, but I'd rather pay ¥18,000 for bedding for ten months than have to a) buy my own and then b) get rid of it frantically at the end of my stay. I'm willing to do a lot to avoid dealing with the trash laws in Japan). I think the building also has insulation, which is pretty amazing. There are trees outside my balcony and I have a direct view to Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Tower, which is basically all you can ask for in Tokyo. The building internet appears to be a joke for which they are charging ¥14,000 a month, but this is the other virtue of the wifi hotspot. Even with all that, my rent is less than $800 a month, which is just ridiculous.
Meanwhile it's autumn, and it's been four years since I've done autumn, and it's…going to take some readjustment. I love autumn, but autumn in Japan also makes me miss Kyoto. Part of the reason I miss Kyoto right now, I admit, is because I know where everything is after having lived there for more than a year, whereas I need to go on a quest to find a grocery store nearby as soon as Kuroneko delivers my other two suitcases this afternoon. This too shall pass, but I do want to get back to Kyoto as soon as possible.
I'm already worried about making a schedule to get work done, which I think is good; I'm going to Australia in a week and a half, however, which means that I'm just going to focus on administrative stuff for the next week rather than trying to frantically do too much. Australia should give me a good chance to focus on my dissertation and be re-energized for it, which is also good. In the meantime, I get to unpack MORE suitcases! Too bad there aren't any shelves in the closet…