New Roommates and Old Habits.
Lately my days have been pretty ordinary and quiet. The weekdays consist of school, movie watching, food prepping, or biking around trying not to spend all my money at the 100 yen shop.
This past weekend was spent in Kashihara. I had no plans to really venture into the city and with needing to save some funds, I decided to just stay in, focusing on making my apartment feel less, rented. As you know I live in a Leopalace. These places are small and already furnished. The furniture I am grateful for but it just lacks so much character! Everything is brown and the curtains remind me of a cheap motel. I am determined to make this place feel more like a home and less like a rented apartment. I figured I spend so much time in this little place naturally I would want it to feel like a place I felt comfortable in. I already took some steps last week and the week before, purchasing plants to lighten up the place. In Houston, my mother always kept plants around the house and in our yard so it always had a familiar feeling. Since the beginning I always said I wanted to get at least one plant for my apartment. Well it was about time. Luckily, Daiso, the 100 yen shop that has nearly everything, also had a small gardening section (go figure)! So a few weeks ago I got plant-happy and picked me out about 6 small plants along with cute pots and potting soil. Its been a couple weeks and my new roommates seem happy. Hopefully they will stay happy!!
This weekend I tend to get bored during the day in my tiny place so I usually frequent shops. Its hard not to buy anything, especially when I always feel I could use something new. But earlier in the week, one of the teachers that sits opposite from me at the junior high school, surprised me with a set of acrylic paints. She is head of the Art Club and I had expressed to her I was looking to buy some paints of my own. I never knew she would get them for me! It was really sweet and I took it as a perfect opportunity to continue painting here. I was just getting back into the groove of creating right before I made the move here so I really wanted to keep that momentum going. Of course I can't do large pieces here or even work with spray paint because lack of space, but I don't want to stop making things the way I can. So this weekend, I set out to Daiso to get brushes and other art supplies. It's really awesome how the dollar store here actually has all that stuff, and at a great quality!! All of my new brushes only costing 200 yen when in Houston it would of cost me at least five times as much!
Along with the new art supplies I scoped out the second hand shop close to my house. I often go here just to see what treasures I may find. Luckily for me, Saturday was a treasure filled day! I found these great containers that were of great quality and perfect vintage, summer colors. I didn't know exactly what to do with them, but they were so great I had to get them. Also at Daiso I couldn't resist getting a cute duck pot for my plant that was potless. The chick was a new product I hadn't seen at the store before. They also had a panda, frog, and pig! I had to restrain myself and only pick one...for now.
This past weekend was also July 4th in America. My Snapchats were filled with crawfish cookouts, bbq, fire works and parties. I really do miss my friends and social life in Houston, but having applications to keep in touch eases the pain a bit. But with the holiday, I wanted to celebrate, a little. It was a small gesture that really was only for me but I hadn't had "American" food in a while so I went to MOS Burger to get a burger and fries for Saturday lunch. It didn't taste the same as an American burger but it sufficed.
Later that afternoon, I spent a few hours working on a painting. It originally stemmed from a drawing I did at school that week. Typically if I draw something I like, I'll later turn it into a painting. I had come across a few art supplies stores here but none of them had canvases or canvas pads (not even Daiso)! So I had to be resourceful with what I had and did a cardboard/fabric piece instead. I think it turned out pretty well for an easy afternoon project.
I was excited for evening though because I had dinner plans with my teacher friend, Shoko. We had hung out once before outside of work and got along really well. She is only a year older than me but has been teaching for three years. Shoko met me at my station and from there we walked to a nearby seafood place. I had always seem this place when I biked around but never would go inside. I know there are many food places near my station but it is difficult for me to go alone because eating alone is a bit sad, also I wouldn't know how to read a menu! Luckily, Shoko picked this place and I finally got to try it!
The seafood was super fresh! I let Shoko pick everything because I'm an easy eater and me trying to figure out what I wanted would take way too long. We ended up getting a mix of clams, fish, squid, sashimi, fried skewer things, cabbage salad, fried cartilage, and a few drinks each. We were one of the first customers for the night and one of the lasts! It was great to just hang out, drink and eat with a friend. It was also to hang out with her because I can practice the small amount of Japanese I do know and she can learn about the English she gets confused about.
Being that the last trains run only right up until midnight, we closed out our tab (which was about $70 usd) and said our farewells.
Sunday was my usual church and grocery day. I was particularly excited about Sunday because I had plans to go to a Japanese dance festival with Yuko in which she had lent me a kimono to wear. But unfortunately the weather was not on our side that day. It had been raining all afternoon and didn't look like it was going to get any better. So we decided not to. But Yuko said it was only the beginning of Summer festivals and that there would be others to see. So fingers crossed!
I hope you all who keep up with me are doing well and enjoying the Houston weather and Summer festivities. Know that I do miss you guys!! And thank you so much for being loyal readers! Love yall!!
xx
t
This past weekend was spent in Kashihara. I had no plans to really venture into the city and with needing to save some funds, I decided to just stay in, focusing on making my apartment feel less, rented. As you know I live in a Leopalace. These places are small and already furnished. The furniture I am grateful for but it just lacks so much character! Everything is brown and the curtains remind me of a cheap motel. I am determined to make this place feel more like a home and less like a rented apartment. I figured I spend so much time in this little place naturally I would want it to feel like a place I felt comfortable in. I already took some steps last week and the week before, purchasing plants to lighten up the place. In Houston, my mother always kept plants around the house and in our yard so it always had a familiar feeling. Since the beginning I always said I wanted to get at least one plant for my apartment. Well it was about time. Luckily, Daiso, the 100 yen shop that has nearly everything, also had a small gardening section (go figure)! So a few weeks ago I got plant-happy and picked me out about 6 small plants along with cute pots and potting soil. Its been a couple weeks and my new roommates seem happy. Hopefully they will stay happy!!
This weekend I tend to get bored during the day in my tiny place so I usually frequent shops. Its hard not to buy anything, especially when I always feel I could use something new. But earlier in the week, one of the teachers that sits opposite from me at the junior high school, surprised me with a set of acrylic paints. She is head of the Art Club and I had expressed to her I was looking to buy some paints of my own. I never knew she would get them for me! It was really sweet and I took it as a perfect opportunity to continue painting here. I was just getting back into the groove of creating right before I made the move here so I really wanted to keep that momentum going. Of course I can't do large pieces here or even work with spray paint because lack of space, but I don't want to stop making things the way I can. So this weekend, I set out to Daiso to get brushes and other art supplies. It's really awesome how the dollar store here actually has all that stuff, and at a great quality!! All of my new brushes only costing 200 yen when in Houston it would of cost me at least five times as much!
Along with the new art supplies I scoped out the second hand shop close to my house. I often go here just to see what treasures I may find. Luckily for me, Saturday was a treasure filled day! I found these great containers that were of great quality and perfect vintage, summer colors. I didn't know exactly what to do with them, but they were so great I had to get them. Also at Daiso I couldn't resist getting a cute duck pot for my plant that was potless. The chick was a new product I hadn't seen at the store before. They also had a panda, frog, and pig! I had to restrain myself and only pick one...for now.
This past weekend was also July 4th in America. My Snapchats were filled with crawfish cookouts, bbq, fire works and parties. I really do miss my friends and social life in Houston, but having applications to keep in touch eases the pain a bit. But with the holiday, I wanted to celebrate, a little. It was a small gesture that really was only for me but I hadn't had "American" food in a while so I went to MOS Burger to get a burger and fries for Saturday lunch. It didn't taste the same as an American burger but it sufficed.
Later that afternoon, I spent a few hours working on a painting. It originally stemmed from a drawing I did at school that week. Typically if I draw something I like, I'll later turn it into a painting. I had come across a few art supplies stores here but none of them had canvases or canvas pads (not even Daiso)! So I had to be resourceful with what I had and did a cardboard/fabric piece instead. I think it turned out pretty well for an easy afternoon project.
I was excited for evening though because I had dinner plans with my teacher friend, Shoko. We had hung out once before outside of work and got along really well. She is only a year older than me but has been teaching for three years. Shoko met me at my station and from there we walked to a nearby seafood place. I had always seem this place when I biked around but never would go inside. I know there are many food places near my station but it is difficult for me to go alone because eating alone is a bit sad, also I wouldn't know how to read a menu! Luckily, Shoko picked this place and I finally got to try it!
The seafood was super fresh! I let Shoko pick everything because I'm an easy eater and me trying to figure out what I wanted would take way too long. We ended up getting a mix of clams, fish, squid, sashimi, fried skewer things, cabbage salad, fried cartilage, and a few drinks each. We were one of the first customers for the night and one of the lasts! It was great to just hang out, drink and eat with a friend. It was also to hang out with her because I can practice the small amount of Japanese I do know and she can learn about the English she gets confused about.
Being that the last trains run only right up until midnight, we closed out our tab (which was about $70 usd) and said our farewells.
Sunday was my usual church and grocery day. I was particularly excited about Sunday because I had plans to go to a Japanese dance festival with Yuko in which she had lent me a kimono to wear. But unfortunately the weather was not on our side that day. It had been raining all afternoon and didn't look like it was going to get any better. So we decided not to. But Yuko said it was only the beginning of Summer festivals and that there would be others to see. So fingers crossed!
I hope you all who keep up with me are doing well and enjoying the Houston weather and Summer festivities. Know that I do miss you guys!! And thank you so much for being loyal readers! Love yall!!
xx
t
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