Bed? What Bed?

3-25-2010 (Evening)

So everything was fine when I got picked up by Mr. Koshiro. He had a car, which made transporting my humongous luggage much easier and put a lot less weight on my conscience. Then, we checked in with the office and then off to Leo Palace 21 to get my key. After I got my key, we went to sign up for Alien Registration Card, because, well, I’m an alien.

Here’s where it all starts going downhill. Apparently this process is only supposed to take about twenty minutes, but mine took at least forty. This does not include the amount of time it took Mr. Koshiro to convince the woman behind the desk that if she just called the company, they could tell her that I was employed with them. She was acting awfully suspicious, which made me wonder if it was because of the way I looked.

After I got my certificate that they had accepted my application for my omg-I’m-a-foreigner card, we hurried on to the post office so that I could set up my account for not only mail, but apparently also for my monies. This didn’t happen because we’d spent far too long twiddling our thumbs while waiting for the damn woman to type faster, because apparently “she was still typing” when we checked back upon noticing the time that had passed. So since the post office was now closed, we decided to find my apartment so we could let the gas guy in to set up my gas.

This also did not happen. We called to have him come back later, because he was originally supposed to come between two and four and instead we didn’t get out of the post office until 4:15. He said he would come back at five, and when we finally found my apartment because the GPS wouldn’t show that we needed to go down the little streets, we found out that the gas guy couldn’t come today and that I would therefore go home to a cold house as well as not be able to take a hot shower. Yay.

So with that not done, we went to AU to get my cell phone. This, luckily, was accomplished… after spending three hours waiting. Apparently, you have to present your Alien Registration Card in order to get a cell phone. This is ridiculous, as it take three weeks for the damn card to be completely processed and created for you to pick up. So, Mr. Koshiro yelled and screamed at the poor men behind the counter, and then proceeded to yell at the president of the company because one of his employees at that branch had told Mr. Koshiro the day before that having my certification of acceptance of my application would suffice. After that, we were told to wait ten minutes for the big boss to figure out if he should allow me to have a cell phone prior to receiving my card. He didn’t call back in ten minutes.

Finally, after calling him back, he agreed to two terms. First, I need to go the first day my card is available, pick it up, and let the cell phone company make a copy of it for their records. Second, Mr. Koshiro had to guarantee that I was going to do it. Then we had to wait for twenty minutes while the guy set up the phone. We went to eat. It was Mr. Koshiro’s treat, and having not eaten since nine that morning, and it was twenty minutes to eight, I was ravenous. The food tasted great.

After dinner, we went down to the cell phone place. It wasn’t ready yet, so we sat down. I read children’s books in Japanese with a little help from Mr. Koshiro because I didn’t know some of the vocabulary. Finally, nine o’clock rolled by and the man fiddling around with my phone finished. It’s pink, takes great pictures, and is bilingual. I’m in love with it, but I haven’t bothered to read the manual. I’m too tired.

So Mr. Koshiro drives me back to my apartment and he leaves. When I walked in, I realized just how cold the apartment was. Then, I realized that the futon, which is supposed to come with the apartment, actually isn’t even in the apartment. The frame for it is, but there’s no actual mattress. I’m sleeping on the floor tonight with the two blankets I had the foresight to pack along with, thank the gods, my electric blanket, which is currently keeping my legs warm while I type this. Luckily, the floor of the main room is carpeted, so at least I have some cushion.

Oh, and since there’s no hot water, there’s no hot shower to help warm me up before bed. So I washed my face with super cold water, dried my face with the face towel I also happened to have the foresight to bring, and then slipped into my pajamas and huddled under one blanket and my electric blanket while sleeping on my big yellow blankie from my childhood.

To reward myself for not deciding to go back to America now, I’m going to watch an episode of MacGyver before going to sleep.

As for tomorrow, I have to hele on over to the post office right after the damn gas man arrives so that I can finally have a nice hot shower. Then I need to see about whether or not Leo Palace screwed up and I’m supposed to have a futon, or if I have to go buy one. Along with sheets for it. Oh, and then I have to set up my internet. And buy some towels. And some dishes and cookware. And an umbrella, since it’s probably going to be raining tomorrow too. I’ll post this after I’ve set up my internet.