sayonara!!

so long, japan blog...

you can find my current thoughts, errors, ponderings, adventures, and jokes [??] at philadelphia-filly.blogspot.com

so-called philadelphia life

i've been thinking about creating a new blog now that i'm not really jetset to japan anymore. but considering how exhausted i am at this moment, i can't muster the creativity of mind to think of a clever name. i'm not sure why, but i'm absolutely wiped out after today. it's not been any more intense than the last 10 days, but i can hardly keep my head up. AND i have a six hour course to complete during the off-work hours of my life. yikes. better sum this up fast and get an hour in!

i'm currently using free wireless on my laptop at panera. my new home has a family PC but i don't consider it polite to use their computer to do this 6 hour course. plus, this computer has all my pics on it...

new job: i've been testing returning students this week. and filling out about 10 pages of information for each student. and planning lessons for the coming weeks. and talking to my teaching partner about the millions of things i need to learn. and meeting other teachers in the head start building. basically, the gist of my job will be teaching english, life skills, u.s. culture, and parenting to two classes of women. there are between 6 and 10 women in each class. they are from a variety of countries and a variety of ages. most speak spanish. most have adorable young kids. and most loved their old teacher. no pressure. anyway, the only reason this post sounds at all negative is bc i'm tired today. most days i come home excited and really anxious to begin classes.

new home: delicious, healthy family dinners. my own rad decorated room. a place to ride my bike. my best friend across the hall. the chance to unofficially adopt a teenage sister. no rent. basically, home life is grand.

new city: i had my first adventure in philadelphia last weekend. it was SO fab to take the train in from the suburbs. linda and i ate in china town, looked at japanese food in the grocery store, went to a gallery and tasted delicious gelato. i can't wait to go back.

the photos above and below are from a few weekends ago when my college roommate married her love. another one bites the dust...

top 10 reasons...

...why i love my new life
1. on my way home from work i pass three rita's
2. i'm already learning the names of major roads
3. i can eat fam dinners every night of the week
4. my clothes and possessions are neatly put away
5. there are a million places to ride bikes
6. my co-teacher said to me on the way home yesterday "i'm so glad i had you captive in my car so i could get to know you better" <3
7. my room decor is fabulous
8. i get to see adorable kids every single day
9. my new job is stretching and growing me every second
10. my best friend is bringing her new life here soon!

photos from the wedding and my new room will be posted SOON!!

kelly nelson trivia

-i discovered a love for sweet potatoes while cooking for myself in japan. tonight i ate them for the first time in america. and i still love them.
-i can do handstands. sometimes not so perfectly. but sometimes REALLY well.
-typically, i make at least one list every single day
-i adore driving. one of the best times on my awesome spring break extravaganza was when we pretended to do a chinese fire drill and the boys let me drive the rickety old van all around the island!
-my favorite time of day in the summer is between 7 and 8pm.
-i LOVE exploring... finding new places, new routes, new restaurants, new stores, new parks, new cafes makes me incredibly thrilled!
-laundry is my favorite household chore. i kinda like cleaning bathrooms, too.
-my favorite genre of music lately: 90's tunes. think wallflowers, oasis, semisonic, goo goo dolls and alanis morisette.
-i'm into wearing long gym shorts. i'm also into wearing dresses. go figure...
-i have a hard time deciding what to eat for breakfast. because i want to be healthy but i can't really figure out how to balance breakfast foods.
-i think bluetooths are hilarious and so stereotypical. but now i have one and i love it.
-my #1 stressor: disorganization
-i'm good at planning. parties, road trips, vacations, schedules, etc.

changes

we dropped al off at boston college on saturday. it was so strange to drive home in the car without him. it's even strange-r to see his bed with no sheets and none of his clothes scattered around on the floor. and even strange-r to be the only kid at the dinner table.

miss him already. didn't think THAT was gonna happen...

in other news, i took my parents on a crazy long intense bike trip this morning. we rode around downtown albany, which is super cool. the non-super-cool part was coming back up a gigantic hill. we had to stop and rest a bunch of times. not a good sign, i'd say.

in more news, i'm counting down the days until i move on sunday. it's been driving me crazy to be so disorganized and not have a space to decorate. i'm printing photos tomorrow for my latest design idea: a wire clothesline with 8x10s printed and hung with mini clothespins. man i can't wait <3

starting early

today i went to a kid's tennis banquet [no, seriously, they exist!] with some cuties i nanny for. i overheard the following conversation between eleanor [one of mine] and a little girl who'll be in her kindergarten class starting next week...

Other girl: "i like your bracelet"
E: "oh, thanks. i love your skirt"
O: "thanks. i like your dress"
E: "thanks. ummm. i like your shoes"
O: "i like yours, too"

holy smokes. it's unreal. the only reason the conversation ended was because E only had shoes, a dress and a bracelet on. they woulda kept going all afternoon. seriously, i was getting nauseous just listening. knowing that in 30 years they'll be at that same tennis banquet with their own kids. following the same routine of volleying the compliments over the net as a form of greeting their friends. yikes!

YAHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOO

I GOT A JOB!!!!!!!

...and will be starting on monday, september 8th. i'll probably move the day before, soon after arriving in albany when the wedding shenanigans are complete.

wahoo for life changes and a salary.