The Birthday

So you know you are getting older when you actually request not having a party.  Part of that was due to my leg still stinging. I finally popped the blister but that just left a sore spot that Motoaki insisted on spraying with antiseptic- which only increased the sting.  I am thankful that he cares so much, but sweet mother that hurt.  I had planned on going camping or at least to the beach but the thought of sand in my leg was a strong deterrent.  Also, recently there has been drama between some of the other teachers in town and so I avoided the whole crowd thing and decided it would be better just to do something with Motoaki.

Anyway, so it was a quiet but good weekend and it actually made my birthday stretch out.  On Saturday we went to the nearby city for shopping, dinner, and a movie.  Again, in regards to getting older, I was intent on getting a housekeeping book.  The one that I had finished last month and I wanted a more elaborate one since we are going to be budgeting a bit more if we get the house we have been looking at.  I am not anal as in keeping track of every dime and nickel (or yen and yen), but it does help me since most of the bills are in Motoaki's name and I just pay him.  It also serves as a nice wake-up call to actually write down how much I have in the bank each week.  Luckily Japan has millions of options at the stationary store, Loft.  Love that place although it is very dangerous as, much like Target, you go in for one thing and buy a million others.  I ended up escaping with my book and a small novelty birthday gift for Toby.  See, I do love and think about my brother.

I also treated myself to a denim sundress/romper type thing that was on sale at the Gap.  Motoaki wanted to pay but I told him to wait until I saw something that wasn't "70% off."  Wink!

Yeah, as good as Motoaki is abut caring about me, he sucks when it comes to gifts.  Japanese people like to give souvenirs but they aren't big in the gift giving department.  They have Christmas but it is more about food than any gifts, and at New Years they just give money.  Little kids get birthday presents but not so much adults.  So where as I thought about what Motoaki likes/needs and chose his gifts based on that, he just kept asking me what I wanted.  Every time I glanced at or touched anything in a store, he immediately he came up behind me offering to pay.  I finally let him buy me the new Lady Gaga CD (not as good as I had hoped but good for driving and cleaning) and the Bruno Mars CD (good sale and a really good CD).

There was one blouse/shirt that I had been eyeing for a few months now (if I see something I like but it is expensive, I will wait to see if it goes on sale) and was excited to see that it was marked down.  The color was beautiful, the fabric was gorgeous, and it had an empire flowing waist that would leave me feel at ease about drinking Starbucks and eating omurice (an omelet with rice and different toppings- mine had spinach, shrimp, and cheese- hence the need for an empire waist).  So I got it off the rack and excitedly went to try it on.  I should have known!  The top fit perfectly except for in the chest.  Damn Japanese women and their small boobs!  I could have tried to make it work- it fit, it just gave me obscene cleavage.  But it only came halfway down my chest, dividing it into an upper and lower part.  And also it would have required a camisole underneath which would have made the chest area tighter.  Not really the "throw it on and go" comfortable shirt I had imagined.  Sadly the sundress version of the top had been sold out.  Oh well...  I don't need more clothes, but I had been excited about it being on sale.

My disappointment was soon forgotten as I found plenty of other things to interest me.  I am actually a good shopper in that I weigh my options and my wallet before jumping into anything.  I found a similar blouse to the one I tried on and got it, plus a pair of roll up trousers that I had been wanting forever (found them in men's- again Japanese women and their small bodies).

And watching X-Men: First Class was also a big help in helping me to cheer up.  The movie was just as I had hoped and I thought casting was perfect.  I have never read the comics so I don't really know if the movie was accurate, but it made for a good movie.  I of course liked James McAvoy as he is great in anything he does.  I was really impressed with Michael Fassbender as Magneto.  I had seen him in Inglorious Basterds but hadn't remembered him next to Brad Pitt and Cristoph Waltz.

Sunday was spent lazily.  I was supposed to go to a BBQ but got up late (we had gotten back late the night before) and it was raining.  Went to Tsuyama for the only Mexican food to be had in these parts ( one of the family restaurants has a taco salad and quesadillas) and then went to meet with the realtors to discuss loan options.  Those meetings are boring in English but good lord do they put you to sleep in Japanese.  I felt bad because I would find myself spacing out only to come back into focus because the realtor had paused for me to answer a question.  I was like, "Why are you asking me?  Like I know anything about buying a house in Japan."  Nice, but really unnecessary.  I know in marriage we should "decide together" but I was like, really, Motoaki, ANYTHING is fine.  just tell me where to sign and what to do.

After that we had dinner with Motoaki's family.  I felt guilty because we don't ever do anything for their birthdays and they hadn't done anything for Motoaki's, but they ended up giving Motoaki a gift as well so it wasn't all about me.  Quite hilarious as Motoaki's sister, who doesn't speak English, gave me a birthday card that featured a Drag Queen holding a sign that said, "Eat me!"  LOL!  I had to keep a straight face until the car, but even Motoaki didn't get how funny that was.

On my actual birthday I worked at an elementary school and then went out for dinner with friends in town.  We had Indian food and mostly spent the time gossiping about what everyone else had been up to.

So yeah, another year older but not much different.  I did get a lot of amazing/lovely gifts from people around the world so also a big thanks for that.