Monday, April 10th, 1989

Note:  This is a series of journal entries from my two years living in Himeji, Japan (1988-1990).  I'm archiving them electronically through my blog.  Last names have been deleted and replaced with first initial only.  For details on this series of blog entries, see this post.

Friday was the opening ceremony for Hinomoto...boring!  It lasted about an hour.  After that we took staff pictures...

...then had an English faculty mtng. 

Saturday I met Dave in Sannomiya.  He was 30 minutes late.  I hate waiting (but for him okay, and he had an excuse, so...).  We went to Hankyu Theater and saw Jodie Foster and Kelly McGillis in "The Accused".  It was really good.  Foster deserved the Oscar for best actress.  The rape scene was horrible!  After the movie we went shopping.  Dave looked at futons and bought a CD holder.

After going to Tokyu Hands we went to Chico's & Charlie's for dinner. Dave bought (because he was late, and consequently I couldn't get to the post office to get money).  We had margaritas and had a nice long chat.  I rode home on the shinkaisoku, and Kimberly & Mitsuko were here when I got here.  (I gave Kimberly my extra key).  We stayed up watching videos & talking until 12:30.

Sunday was D-Day.  We got up at 6:30, and met the E.S.S. girls at the Shirotopia main gate at 8:30. 

We went around to the employee entrance by the Friendship Pavilion and rehearsed till 9:30.  Everyone in the place listened when I sang "Love in Any Language".  It was great!

 Performer's Ticket

After rehearsal Mitsuko, Kim & I went to McDonalds for breakfast, then to the castle to watch 100 women in kimonos play the koto.

We then went to Shirotopia and looked around for awhile.

It was really crowded, so we didn't go to any of the shows.  Our performance was at 1:10.  None of the Hinomoto faculty came.  Surprise, surprise.  Ree, Makiyo, & Masami were there.  They gave me a wonderful bouquet afterwards.  The show went well, but the acoustics were really bad.  It was very hard to hear, and the music wasn't loud enough...otherwise it went well.

After the show we went to the Shirotopia office, and they gave us a gift (a gold coin) and a framed certificate to hang at school.

Then Tomoki, Kim, Mitsuko, & I trekked off to the station.

Mitsuko, Kim & I took the shinkaisoku to church and had choir practice.  Only five people were there (more joined at church time to make a total of about nine).  After choir I picked the evening hymns, then K., M., & I went to Sun Kotobuki for coffee, except no one ordered coffee.

Choir sang in church.  We sang "Seek Ye First", and it went well.  I left right after church because I was exhausted.  I was too tired to even be embarrassed at pulling flowers out of a locker at the station or carrying them home on the train (they're a big bunch).

I went to bed at 10:30.

Today, my only real day of vacation, is being spent cleaning, washing, shopping, writing retreat stuff, teaching Kayo, preparing for classes tomorrow...aaaaaah!

Monday, April 3rd, 1989

Note:  This is a series of journal entries from my two years living in Himeji, Japan (1988-1990).  I'm archiving them electronically through my blog.  Last names have been deleted and replaced with first initial only.  For details on this series of blog entries, see this post.

Thursday was E.S.S. rehearsal.  It went all right.  Thursday afternoon I shopped for awhile, then came home and watched "The Tunnels Spring Special".

Friday, I rehearsed with Michiyo for a few hours, then went shopping.

Saturday I did spring cleaning all day.  I scrubbed the floor in my futon closet that had mildewed, I scrubbed the grout gook and scum out of my bathroom.  I vacuumed, washed, scrubbed, rearranged, de-grimed, rearranged again, etc.  It took me about 6 hours to clean, but I got it done.  I also dusted and washed my sheets.

Sunday I stored winter scarves and gloves for the summer.  I did a little more cleaning, then left for Sannomiya.  I went to Mr. Jackets (and didn't buy anything!), then met Kimberly at Sun Kotobuki for dinner.  We had choir, bible study, church, then singles.

I came home (surprisingly by shinkaisoku- they must run late during spring holidays.).  I was also fortunate in catching the last bantansen.  No big problems in the last 2 days due to the implementation of the consumption tax, but Friday I went to Topos and stood in line for 25 minutes...everyone was hoarding stuff on the day before the new tax.  I was so upset by the time I finally got out of there!  It was also dangerous, because I ended up buying 10 more things by the time I got to the counter, than I started in line with. (I was in a good aisle!).

Today I went to Topos and there wasn't anyone at the registers on the same floor (but on the top floor I had to wait 10 minutes...grrr.)

Today was wonderful!  I met Mitsuko, a former friend from KIBC, and Kimberly at the eki and we went to Himeji castle (after a stop at Daiei to buy obento) to view cherry blossoms.  I took a blanket, and we sat under the cherry trees to eat & look around.  It was so beautiful! After lunch we took a lot of crazy pictures and toured the castle.  Places not usually open- were, due to Shirotopia.  So we got to see the toilets, tea ceremony bldng. and the shorter tower in the main donjon.

After the castle, we dropped Kimberly at the eki, dropped my film off (the guy was rude & I had to pre-pay- for the 1st time ever, plus they didn't give me any free film!), then the former friend, Mitsuko, and I took the bus to my place.  I made tater tot casserole and Mitsuko & I feasted while my former friend continued on in the first grueling day of her diet with a salad and a can of tuna...

After dinner we played cards (Nertz).

I walked them to the station at 9:30.  What a day!

Monday, March 27th, 1989

Note:  This is a series of journal entries from my two years living in Himeji, Japan (1988-1990).  I'm archiving them electronically through my blog.  Last names have been deleted and replaced with first initial only.  For details on this series of blog entries, see this post.

I met Kimberly at the Christian bookstore at 4:30.  Robin and Ben were there too.  K. and I shopped for a couple of hours, then went to a shabu-shabu place for dinner.  We thought it would cost only about 2,500 yen, but much to our economic delight...instead, our lack of knowing Japanese & of reading kanji brought the grand total to 6,500 yen!  Ugh!  (But it was good)!

I spent the night with Kimberly.  After a restless night, we woke up at 5:00.  I showered, and attempted to do my hair.  At 6:30 we left and caught a train to Rokko.  We met a guy named Mark at Mikage Station, and he came with us.  We took a taxi to Canadian Academy for the Sunrise Easter Service at 7:00.  It was on the balcony of the library.  It was beautiful!

After the service we all went to B's for a breakfast.  There were a lot of people there, and it was fun!

 Mitsuko and Janet B.

 Charles and Paula

 Me and Nora

After that, G's invited a bunch of us singles over for games, lunch, etc.  We played Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy (on the computer), and Twister.

Kimberly, Glen, and I left at about 1:30 and took the train to Osaka.  We said goodbye to Glen, then met Kim's friend Chicka.  We took the train to Kintetsu Station (by Tanimachi Subway- to Tanimachi, 9-chome)(5 stops).  We went to a coffee shop for frozen yogurt, then to the Kintetsu Dept. Store, then to "Phantom of the Opera".

"Phantom" was fabulous!  It was very elaborate, both in costume and set design, and, as "Les Miz" was, very elaborate technically.

My favorite technical effects were when the Phantom appeared in the mirror in Christine's dressing room with her reflection, then the mirror slid away and he took her hand and brought her through, then it closed and they were gone.

I also loved the scene where the phantom and Christine descend into his world.  First he takes her through the mirror, then down a trap door, then across a bridge at the back of the state that tilts different directions to emphasize the length, then in a boat across a misty, candle filled lake...very realistic- especially later when Rolf jumps off the bridge into the lake and disappears- (presumably through a trap door in the floor).

The scene in which he materializes from a cross over Christine's father's grave is great, too.  (The cross is dimly lit, and his cape hides him within the big cross).  The phantom also materializes from the "Pegasus" on the roof after Christine and Rolf pledge their love, and he "disappears" in both the masquerade scene and after covering himself with his cape and sitting in his chair in the last scene...marvelous effects...lots of mists, fabulous sound effects, and the characters of the phantom, Rolf, Christine, her ballerina friend, and the Countess Carlotta were excellently acted.

I felt so sorry for the phantom at the end, when he let Christine and Rolf go, sacrificing his love for her. I actually didn't cry, but was really close.

The only negative aspects of the show were that Kimberly had a wheezy, coughy, sniffly cold, Gary didn't show up, and Akira and Hiroko didn't get there until the end of the 1st act.  (Also, the chandelier falling into the audience wasn't very realistic).

Otherwise, it was a fabulous show!

After the show, Akira, Hiroko & I drove home, but stopped at a robata under the Washington Hotel in Sannomiya, where Akira used to work in college, for dinner.  It was great!

Saturday, March 25th, 1989

Note:  This is a series of journal entries from my two years living in Himeji, Japan (1988-1990).  I'm archiving them electronically through my blog.  Last names have been deleted and replaced with first initial only.  For details on this series of blog entries, see this post.

Thursday was the faculty and English teachers mtngs.  I was told they started at 3:00.  I went at 3, and of course, it had already started.  They changed the time to 2:30.  Nobu didn't know either, though.  After the English faculty meeting Nobu brought me home.

Yesterday I got travelers checks, dad's present, and found a shirt sale!  I met Linda Lee and Karl at Himeji Castle, and we went to Shirotopia.  It was fun.

We saw a 3-D show on airplanes on a super big screen, a tale of the creation of Japan, went through a fun house, saw lots of exhibits (kite show at museum)(Chinese history at history museum).  We also saw a singer, Megumi Morita, do a "Broadway type" show.  The backup dancers, costumes, etc. were fabulous (especially the short guy in the conga song!).

We got a free gift (a gold plated electroplate of Himeji Castle).

It was rainy, so there weren't a lot of people there (which was nice, but it was a very soggy day!).

We also saw unicyclists and jugglers at the World Friendship Pavilion.  That's where Aya works, so I got to see her, too.  I also got to see the stage we're performing on in a few weeks.  It's small, but we should be okay.

After I got home Kimberly called, then Kyl called.  We talked for 1 1/2 hours!  It was good to hear from him again.

Today I've cleaned, and am going to meet Kimberly in Sannomiya at 4:30.

Wednesday, March 22nd, 1989

Note:  This is a series of journal entries from my two years living in Himeji, Japan (1988-1990).  I'm archiving them electronically through my blog.  Last names have been deleted and replaced with first initial only.  For details on this series of blog entries, see this post.

Monday after dinner I called Michiyo (then Kim, then Michiyo, then Kim, then Michiyo, then Kim) and got nowhere.  She (Michiyo) said her cousin was getting married in Tokyo (she told Chinatsu differently).  She also said it was okay with the others for her to miss rehearsals this week, and to have many rehearsals from the 27th to the 7th (they said she called them after she talked to me).  The lying little...blank!  I told her I would call her on the 27th to say whether she could be in the show or not.

Today I rehearsed (1 hr.) with the girls.  Chinatsu was late, Tomomi 2 hours late.  I decided to let the girls vote on whether to allow Michiyo to do the show.  They wimped out, because Michiyo's their friend so she's doing the show, but I gave the ultimatum that if she (or anyone) is late or misses any more rehearsals they are out of the show.

I'm going to work Michiyo's little butt off for the next two weeks (except that means I have to put in all the extra time now...GRRRRR!).  Needless to say I'm extremely sick of this stupid Shirotopia bullshit, and want to drop the whole friggin' mess!  I can't wait until the 10th of April when this idiotic show is over.

Anyway, one good thing came out of today.  Chinatsu brought a little printing set to make postcards.  I want to buy one- they are really cute!  The finished product looks really neat!  They are expensive though!

Yesterday I went to Rokko for the singles S.U.B. party (Surprise Un Birthday).  We had unbirthday cake, opened unbirthday presents, and played Balderdash, 2 Truths and a Lie, and Pictionary.  It was a lot of fun!