Yamete kureyo.

[akujunkan]

Man, I cannot get accustomed to using computers with no Japanese input system. My flavah is messed, my style seriously cramped.

These last four months have been hellacious. I have never been more thankful to be back in America. After weathering a sudden 12-hour-early departure to compensate for snow delays, an incompetent travel agent (oops, did I say the hotel was five minutes away from Shinjuku? I really meant twenty lol! Oops, did I just sell you a completely extraneous ticket to Tokyo station when you could have boarded the same train at Shinjuku, thus saving you $5.00 and an hour of travel time? My bad teehee!) I have never been more happy to set foot in God's Owne Homelande.

Of course, I've also remembered that the only country I hate more than Japan is America (unless I'm in Japan, where the only country I hate more than America is Japan...). American customs officials are some of the most obnoxious, unpleasant people on the face of the earth, as I am reminded like a slap to the face every time I return home for Christmas. I had fifteen minutes to catch my connecting flight, which was eaten up (and then some) while the airport monkeys scratched their heads over my Irish flute and pennywhistes. (Hint: if there were no explosives in my bags when I departed from Tokyo, there's no way any could have got there while I was flying over the Pacific Ocean unless the Hand of God put them there, and if the Hand of God put them there, there ain't nuthin any of us mortals can do to stop him...) Of course, that flight was delayed, which was good, because I had to play security check/terminal marathon, because....

.....OH MY DEAR SWEET LORD I FORGOT MY CANON WORDTANK ON THE PLANE AND SOMEBODY STOLE IT. I may hate Japan at the moment, but the fact remains that had I forgotten the dictionary in Japan, it would have been turned in, not lifted by a flight attendant. I realised my error not fifteen minutes after disembarking. The guy at the JAL flight desk was very kind but nonetheless indulged in some Japanese-ish doublespeak. "They probably threw it out," my ass. You don't throw out a very sleek, expensive looking piece of electronics.

Even more horrifying than the anguish of having left about $400 worth of gadgetry on the plane is the fact that

I AM NOW DOOMED TO SPEND THE NEXT THREE WEEKS WITHOUT A JAPANESE DICTIONARY. ::WAILS; GNASHES TEETH::

I have no faith in my ability to weather this crisis with my sanity intact and am thus seriously considering driving up to the Windy City to purchase a new one.

My parents had installed new, $200 mirrored doors on my bedroom closet, which I managed to break in a jetlagged haze within two hours of arriving home.

Then, I discovered to my horror that a money order I'd sent home via registered mail last March arrived at my house yesterday. These money orders are only valid for three months after the date of issue. So:

March - December = -(nine months)

where -(nine months) = -800 USD.

But hey, at least it makes the $400 Wordtank look like chump change.

In a moment of brightness, my CDs were waiting for me when I got home, so I at least have over 15 hours of Irish music to help soothe my nerves.

That will be all.

Comments

[theosakakoneko.livejournal.com]

where do you live again?
but man, that is just one huge load of suckage. wow. um...i feel for you! i don't know what else to say except that...um...wow. i guess it is better after all to wire transfer money home via lloyds...i'll keep that in mind! but the dictionary sucks....
can you not set up your home computer to use japanese? the windows ime thing?

[firesign10.livejournal.com]

Glad you arrived safely but wow! what a run of bad luck there!! *wah* Any insurance that'll cover the wordtank? and is there no recouping the money order somehow?!?! that seems grossly unfair that the mail delay should cost you so much! Can you file a claim at the post office or something? There's no reason a registered mail should take 9 months to deliver ANYWHERE in the world. Can you do electronic transfers from now on? *argh!!!*

Hope the REST of your stay is far less uneventful (or, only eventful in the GOOD way!!!)

[sara-tanaquil.livejournal.com]

What a horrible trip home! T_T

I really hope you find some recourse for the money order screwup (what's the point of using registered mail if it doesn't offer any guarantee of safe, timely arrival?) and that the Wordtank turns up by some miracle in the lost property department. Are the flight attendants on the Tokyo-US route Japanese? I mean, what would they even do with the thing?

Psst... if you're going to buy a new Wordtank, look at the G55 or the (tres expensive, about to be released) G70...

[mikeneko.livejournal.com]

Even so . . .
Okaerinasai!

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

Northern Indiana, at the moment.

Rents are crazy anal about Not Putting ANYTHING ON THE COMPUTER OMG!!!1onez so no IME for me. There is a wireless network I could potentially hook myself up to, but I'm having a heck of a time trying to figure out how to configure the Japanese notebook. My technical vocab sucks.

Did you/are you heading home for winter break? And more importantly, would you be up for a Kansai area Reunion Tour come spring?

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

Thank ya. Don't know yet about the registered mail - you would think something could be done, but Japanese bureaucracy scares the pants off of me. Still, I'm going to keep fighting because that's over a month of disposable income for me. Electronic transfers cost about 8-10x as much as postal money orders, which is why I'd stuck with the latter until now, but given their screwups, I'd say the former's looking better with each passing minute.

Wordtank is probably just gone for good, alas. I'll give the airport a call in another few days, but I don't have my hopes up.

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, the thing flight attendants would do with the wordtank is sell it. I imagine it would bring a nice secondhand price in either country, and I kept that thing in pristine condition. (T.T) No word yet on the money order other than that it will involve Bureaucracy.

I was looking at the 70 the other day (on your post, I think?) and it looks very sexy. Almost too much so. But that won't keep me from salivating...

Tadaima

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

Ah, doumo.

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

And incidentally, how are you digging the weather at the moment? It's like there was a little bit of the 'Robe waiting over here to welcome me home;')

[shoebucket.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, you're HOME?!?!??? Did I completely miss the fact that you were coming here?

How long will you be here? I'ma try to create a trip up to see you!

[theosakakoneko.livejournal.com]

Northern Indiana? Man, everyone lives in northern Indiana. Anywhere near Valparaiso? :) hehe That's where my boyfriend lives. If so, I know a place you can get okonomiyaki if you crave Japanese food...they have it at his father's restaurant!
I am heading home, next Friday. You got home early after all! Yay! I am leaving the day after my shugyoushiki, which is Thursday.

And hell yeah, you need to come down to Kansai. Yeah! (was that the idea?)

[mikeneko.livejournal.com]

Scho much schnow. Did you get the thing up there that they're calling "thunder snow"? Where it snows and thunders at the same time? Fun fun.

[theosakakoneko.livejournal.com]

You know, depending on where you live in northern Indiana, and if it's really close to Valpo and you didn't want to drive up to Arlington, I could go get you a jisho in dendentown and you could get it off Stephen and pay him for it.. He's heading back there on Wednesday.
But then if you are close to Valpo it's only a couple hours to Arlington..and that's fun itself... Well either way let me know! :)

[cienna.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, I keep forgetting to express my sympathy. I think I might cry if I lost my dictionary (which I've come very close to doing several times). At least this gives you a good excuse to get a new one!

And I definitely think you should complain to the post office about the money order. That's so not your fault! I'm just hoping now that I get through my trip home with no major problems. Hope the rest of your vacation goes better!

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

Yup, I'm back (if horridly jetlagged)! I'll be here through the New Year:)

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

Actually thunder snow is the only kind we get over in Japan, so I'm accustomed to it by now. The family dog, unfortunately, isn't. :-\

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

That was the idea indeed. I'm actually really close to Valpo - about 30 minutes by car. How on earth do you know someone from up here, anyway?

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

Wait, so you'll be in the vicinity over winter break? YAY.

It looks like I might actually be able to survive until I can get back to Japan to get a new dictionary, as I'm rediscovering the beauty of English books. But I do muchly appreciate the offer.

[akujunkan.livejournal.com]

But the thing is, this is the new one! I've only had it for five months. At least, according to sara_tanaquil there are even cooler ones coming out.

Crossing my fingers that your trip is okay. Although I think I've used up all available bad luck on mine, so I don't think you need to worry.

[shoebucket.livejournal.com]

But when, exactly? (the reason I ask, is because of my crazy hectic schedule for the next few weeks)

[theosakakoneko.livejournal.com]

I went to University of Chicago, as did my boyfriend who lives in Valpo - we met there. (Randomly another JET friend from osaka also lives somewhere around there, but that's neither here nor there.) Anyway, if you want me to arrange a jisho for you, let me know what you want, as I'd have to go get it tomorrow morning! Send me email - helena.stenberg at gmail. (As you probably know..) Anyway yeah.. let me know fast! But maybe you don't? (Just read the rest of the thread)