Alive and Kicking!!

It really is amazing how fast time flies when you're in Japan. I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted here. Part of it was just wanting to incorporate pictures and not being able to do so. BUT NOW I CAN! Yay!! Sooooo, I'll try to sum up the last few months. They've been great. There. Done. Okay, so I suppose a few more details are in order. So, I'll start with today. Spring is definitely here and the mountain is turning a lovely shade of green. I never get tired of the view from my window. Now that it's warmer, my balcony has become my favorite spot to have my coffee in the morning. I slept in a bit today, so this was actually taken this afternoon, but you get the idea. I got up late because I'm still recovering from a few nights ago. I got home around 3am from Rough Roll, our local gaijin bar. I was there with Trenton - the fabulously gay boy from Atlanta who is on his way to Seattle, Marcus the Canadian, Samea - the native San Franciscan, and a new friend Ian from just outside of London. We were all just chatting up a storm, ignoring all time pieces of any kind. Not the wisest move since I had to work the next day, but worth it just the same.

The week prior was Golden Week, one of the two biggest holiday seasons in Japan. Mine was pretty quiet, although I did get to perform with Darryn for the first time. Darryn is a guy from Melbourne Australia and has been living in Yamagata for about 7-8 years. I think his Japanese is probably better than his English at this point. In any case, he's the musical one of the town. He's got an amazing set up at his house with guitars, a piano, speakers, microphones - the works! Who needs karaoke?!? He has great connections around town and asked if I would sing with him. His regular singer, Tomo, moved down to Tokyo and he was looking to replace her. In any case, we've been practicing a bit, Tomo came back over Golden Week to visit her family and we decided to give it a try. Great fun!! Towards the end of the night, Jo-San, Tomo's friend from Sendai was on a stool and at the mic. She cracked the place up! So funny. I hope I get the chance to hang out with her more in the big city. Shiyoshi was at the piano - he's also the bartender there. I got to chat with the owner a bit. (She's the happy one who looks like an owner.) Ceed also came out, she's the one in the green and is the singer of a punk band here. I finally met Heidi, who I had heard so much about and ran into Heather as well. She's the one in the pink. I'm looking forward to getting to know both of these women a bit better. Heidi lives here with her husband and is into yoga and pottery. Heather is working on her Masters Degree, has a boyfriend in Tokyo and has been here for about 4 years - I think. She's from North Carolina and has a great accent! That's about all I know. I met them through Esther, who is a social butterfly. She's British, but also has American citizenship. We got together last week and broke out the paints for awhile. She's made some lovely woodblock prints!! Esther also teaches Ashtanga Yoga and has started classes in a room at the bottom of my building. How convenient is that?