I almost wonder if someone requested this for me, or maybe for another to-be JET Programme participant.
We drove 2 hours yesterday to Kitajima, to the Fuji Grand theater there, to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (good, but lots of things I wish were much better…the Really Important Part was stellar, though, but the very end left a sour taste in my mouth), then Julie and I headed into Tokushima, where we found the music store! I bought a stand and inquired into having my bow rehaired and whether there are any orchestras actively looking for new members (yes, one week and a couple thousand yen; and they weren’t sure, since the person who would know wasn’t in that day), and we had Julie try out a 3/4-size violin, which she felt really comfortable with. We also went by Uniqlo (I wanted to buy a jacket but didn’t have money, so I’ll probably buy one in Osaka next month, unless I find myself back in Tokushima-shi with time and $70 to spare before then) and had dinner at Big Brothers, which is an American-owned bar/restaurant that caters to Tokushima’s foreign population and is a kind of comforting presence. We then ran to catch a slow train back out west.
Today, I bought a real chest of drawers! No more depending on cramped plastic ones for me! Unfortunately, I’d have to assemble it myself, but fortunately, the only one left was the store display one, and they said they’d deliver it this week (I think…I still have major problems understanding really polite/formal/honorific-laced Japanese, with all the “itadaite”s and “yoroshii”s and whatnot). The wardrobe they had would have really clashed with this room, and I have an aversion to white-painted furniture…let’s just see how this chest of drawers does, though, in case it works well enough that a wardrobe might not be necessary. I do miss being able to hang up my shirts and suits, though…
I have so much Christmas/holiday shopping to do. I have to pick up gifts for the orphanage, figure out who to send gifts to and who to write cards to, buy things for my family, pick up something for my Nightly Secret Santa…too bad that the only stores I know about in Ikeda are the grocery stores, the stationery store, and the 100-yen store! This should be fun.