Weather here sucks !

I'm so over the weather here. It's usually overcast and rainy. When it is blue out ... we can't enjoy it because we're at work! I had four days off and would have loved to of laid out but it wasn't nice not one of those days. It reminds me of Twilight's Forks in Washington.

So this week has been pretty eventful. I had to work Th-Sun but that didn't stop me from having fun! Friday night we wanted to go out to dinner so we decided to invite four of our friends to go with us. We went to the Mexican restaurant off base for some great food! It was fun and one of the couples with us loves to bowl. They have their own balls, shoes and go often. So whenever we hang out with them I figure they are going to throw out the bowling invite. So of course, we went bowling after dinner. Well, THEY went bowling ... I just hung out. People have a hard time believing I have more fun watching and hanging out rather than actually bowling. Bowling annoys me ... and if I bowl good, I don't have an awesome time either so what's the point. And if anyone bowls bad, they can't tell me they're having fun.

Saturday we went to the Misawa festival with the same group of friends. I had to work in the morning and then go back from 4:30-6:30 so I felt like I sort of ruined it because I had to leave early. We got to see everything, but at night was when the festival really started going apparently. We got to try so many different foods that I'm surprised that mixture of food didn't make us sick. We had corn dogs, chicken on a stick, beef on a stick, crepes, candy apples, yakisoba and brownies.

When I got out of work Saturday night I went home and got ready to go to dinner at Satoko's home. We were excited because we hadn't seen her home yet or met her husband. Whenever she'd come hang out she always came alone so we were starting to wonder! We also told her we'd drive down there because she always goes way out of her way to pick us up. So we made it down there just fine and made it home without getting lost! She also had some other friends over and was cooking Okonomiyaki. It didn't really taste like pancake, but it was good. I was over it quickly though and couldn't finish everything I was given. Gian really enjoyed it and ate everything. They kept it low key and didn't add anything real strange to it ... just shrimp, cabbage and pork. I was worried they were going to throw some squid or something along those lines.

Sunday after work when I got home I quickly got ready and we headed out to meet some friends at the beach. For some reason they wanted to go to the beach near the port which was packed for the first time. They told us we had to grill in the grass so we decided to just leave cause the grass was too far from the water. We showed them our spot at the beach up more North and we grilled out there instead. There's no one out there so you can do what you want. There were a lot of surfers out there and even though they have wet suits, I don't know how they stay out there in that ice cold water. Watching them makes me itch to get a surfboard and surf. I'd rather surf any day than snowboard. We had some good food and a good time. After we ate we walked along the beach and let our feet get wet ... and cold. But after a while it didn't feel sooo bad.

By the end of the busy weekend the house was so dirty. I was getting to bed late over the weekend so I was napping during the day and the house never got cleaned. So Monday I dedicated the whole day to cleaning it. I spent 6 hours cleaning! The house looked awesome afterward. And it's lasting longer than I'd thought too.

Tuesday was our 2 year Wedding anniversary. In the morning I had a job interview for one of the positions I applied for at UMUC. I was so excited, but nervous too. Monday night I went to the BX to try and find a shirt to match my slacks. I found a couple things and they weren't great but I knew just how bad they were when Gian laughed at each shirt I tried on. Not like they were cheap either. So I decided to try a Japanese store off base that I've been wanting to go. And Voila! I found three blouses that fit and were all under $20! So I bought two of them to take home and dry with my slacks. They both looked good but since one was sleeveless it looked like it needed a cover to go with it. I wore the slacks, white blouse, and heels. I looked sharp if I may say so myself. The interview went alright ... a lot more easier than I thought it was going to be. She didn't ask difficult questions and I think I answered them well. I just have to wait for a call now. If I do get offered the job, it would be full time and on salary. I haven't been called for an interview for the other job because I've heard the person in charge of the computer lab hasn't come to do the interviews yet. That job sounds more appealing but the hours aren't unless Gian switched back to working nights. Just have to wait and see...

After the interview Gian and I sat down to plan our day. We decided to go to lunch at the most amazing place in town ... the cake house! Afterward we decided to go to the Rocca Pocca Spa House to visit an onsen. There are 8 in our own town, but they aren't private and I don't want to hang with a bunch of naked strangers. The public ones cost about $3-$7 and you can stay as long as you'd like. We paid about $50 for 2 hours in a private onsen but it was worth it. It was pretty far too ... about a 45 min drive North. No one spoke any English so it was a little frustrating to try and figure out what to do. I could only say so much in Japanese but figured it out! Gian said he was very impressed with my Japanese which I thought was flattering and kinda sad cause it's not that good! I forgot my camera, so sorry but no photos! I'm sure we'll go again sometime cause Gian really enjoyed it. Our private onsen had a dinning room with a TV, a bathroom and then the onsen. It was inside but half of it was glass so we had a pretty view overlooking the forest. There was the marble tub with the hot spring water pouring into and and two shower heads so we could shower before and after entering. It was really hot, kind of like a jacuzzi, but eventually I figured out I could slow the hot spring water and pour some cold water in the tub. The water was from a sodium chloride hot spring and our skin felt so smooth after. It was nice, but I would have preferred to get massages instead. Onsens are extremely popular in Japan and in their culture they don't think much of being naked with each other, but I'm sorry it's just not something I want to experience so this was a perfect alternative.

After the onsen we went to look for strawberries at several grocery stores for champagne later. There were none! The base commissary had some but they looked pretty pitiful. We got hungry and went to our new favorite Sushi spot. It's a cute small place close to base. It's decorated really nice and the food is amazing! Good price too .. for about $8.50 you get a drink, fried dish, 12 sushi rolls, salad, and soup! I like to eat all of it! Except for the soup cause it has seaweed in it so it taste too fishy for me. When we got home we popped open the bubbly, which was Cristalino. My mother had bought us 2 bottles when we got married and we just never got around to drinking the one bottle. So we popped it open and it was nasty! It was so sour ... I don't know if it goes bad or what but we didn't end up drinking it. It's okay though cause my friend Laura bought us a bottle of our favorite wine so we'll get to drink that instead!

Gian also had Wed off too so we went to the Lapia mall in Hachinohe. We went there once during a tour when we first arrived, but we were rushed so we didn't see all of it. It wasn't as great as we thought it would be. Our mall closer is a lot nicer and they have about the same stores. They do have a pet store there so we went to look at the puppies. They are so cute. There was a beagle who was $800 and something so I called him discount puppy. There was a bulldog puppy which Gian just loves... but he was almost $3k. I don't like bulldogs much anyway. I think they're gross.

Then we came home and just hung around the house relaxing. I fell asleep so early for some reason. So I just had way too much sleep. I was supposed to be doing homework but I didn't finish and fell asleep instead. Oops.

Well this is long enough for sure! Oh and by the way Japanese finished last week! So nice not to have that commitment every day! I got a B ... which is ok, but I thought I was going to get an A. Boo! Sociology is still going for about another month. Then I'll start taking Biology and the lab, and Advanced buisness writing. Should be a busy semester...

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