Internets GET!

Listening to the Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver OST (Original Soundtrack)

Hokay, now for good news. Apparently heat runs on electricity here instead of gas like in America, so when I was shivering the other night I really could've turned on the heater to warm myself. The gas guy came the next morning. I asked him about the air conditioner and he taught me how to use it. Thank the forces that be!

After my gas was installed, and I had hot water (finally!), I washed my face and went off to the post office, which is also a bank. I must say that I love Japanese service because there was always someone out by the form filling area to help you, which was great since I'm such a newb to the area. Anywho, the woman was really kind and helped me with the form I needed to get my account started as well as to get a Visa. However, when I got to the consultation corner about my account, I found out that Mr. Koshiro and I had forgotten to get a 300 yen certificate at the ward office. I needed that in order to get my account. So, after having Mr. Ueno and Ms. Abe, who also works at HQ, talk to the woman, I hurried on back to the ward office, which is a lot closer than I remember, and got the certificate.

Lemme tell you something. The woman who helped me was totally different from the woman yesterday, so I had absolutely no problem! She wasn't suspicious of me at all. Huzzah! I had to buy a 300 yen stamp from a vending machine, and of course I don't know what to do, so I'm standing at the vending machine staring at the two buttons with kanji written all over it pondering about which one to press when the mother beside me presses the one I need for me. OMG. I thanked her profusely.

Certificate in hand (they gave me a small bag/envelope thing to put it in too!), I hurried on back to the post office/bank. It took a couple of hours, but I have I finally have an account. Whew.

I decided to walk home so that I wouldn't have a portfolio of important documents that could possibly be blown away. On the way I stopped off at the deli near my house. I asked the woman behind the counter if any of them spoke English. She didn't and neither did the man cutting stuff in the back, who looked to be her husband. While I was browsing the various meats at their disposal, one of them must've called a younger employee, possibly their daughter, out to the front. I explained in Japanese that I recently moved in and that I was from America. She essentially said that she didn't think I needed to talk to someone who spoke English because my Japanese was just fine. She also said that I don't speak with an American accent, which makes me puff out my chest even now. When I told her that I thought I wasn't good at Japanese, she looked at me like I was crazy for thinking so. XD I bought five pieces of kara-age, a type of fried chicken. I'm definitely going back to that shop. :3

But now I need a futon. Towels were, of course, more important. I wasn't going to go another night without showering. So, I walked on over to the market by my house and on the way I, what do you know, found a really cute shop called "At First" that had, OMG, towels for sale! They were super cute, super soft, and I managed to get a bath towel, dish towel, and hand towel all with sakura on it. LOL. I checked with the market, which is called Maruetsu, first to see if they had towels for cheaper, but they didn't. So my sakura towels weren't cheap, but they're super cute and felt good enough to last me a year with no problems. Please note that Japanese bath towels are much smaller than American bath towels. XD

Now, about this market. Mr. Ueno said that this is supposed to be a smaller market. He did not tell me that Maruetsu is the Japanese version of a Ralphs/Albertsons/Kroger. Sadly, like these American stores, Maruetsu does not carry towels. At least I found At First. haha.

I really should've taken a picture, but since I need to buy food again today anyway, I'll probably take a picture today. They have a make-your-own-bento section. I kid you not. They had pre-made tempura! I had to resist the urge to wade through the masses to get some for myself. I didn't know when it was going to get dark, or when At First was going to close, so I chose not to get anything that wasn't already packaged. Damn. I'm going to have fun raiding that section.

So, with a 2L bottle of cold tea, a bento, sandwich, onigiri, and a small plate of sushi in hand, along with some cherry flavored Hi-Chew I found by the check out counter, I snagged my towels, a cute coin purse with an owl on it, and an umbrella with pink hearts on it at At First. Then I went home and unpacked. Food went in the fridge, and since I'd neglected to buy a cup while I was at the market, I poured some of the tea in an empty bottle of Aquarius, a type of sports drink, I'd gotten earlier while I was walking between the ward office and the post office.

My closet is quite a good size, though I noticed that Japanese hangers must be narrower than American ones because my hangers touch the back of the closet. I hung all the important clothes on hangers and put the rest on top of the shelf or put them in my carry on, which is now doubling as my dresser. haha. I haven't decided if I want to buy a bookshelf or just leave my other stuff strewn about the floor, but pretty much everything is either in my closet or on the floor. My luggage went up on the loft and I've still got a bunch of space. I don't know what to do with it just yet. I hope to decorate. :3

I definitely want to get this: http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/cbe7/
It's a plant that only needs sunlight. When it gets enough sunlight, the leaves wiggle. I wouldn't have to take care of it and I'd have a plant. That's a recipe for win if there ever was.

Well, since I woke up at 6:30 to install my internet and it's now 10, I should probably get ready. All the shops should be open by now, so I'm off to the futon place I found on the web at the suggestion of my beloved Terrpi (it's actually really close to the train station, so I scope that out at the same time and figure out the best route to take to get there, and then the big mall, e-Mall, which is on the way to the ward office. With any luck, I'll have a futon be the end of the day as well as dishes, cookware, trash bins, trash bags, more toilet paper, detergent, and a stocked fridge. Wish me luck, guys!