Friday, August 1, 2008

My crappy computer crapped out on me

Which means I lost alllll my old papers, all my music, all my software, and my computer back home crapped out at the same time and my backup CDs for the software are all in America. I got my lappy fixed (in one day - here's a well-earned shout out to Shinsaibashi's Apple store) but it is a hollow shell of the amazing machine it once was. I'm in the process of trying to get back what I once had, but the heartbreak was great and I don't think I will ever love a computer again.

What I've been doing since the tragedy -

Using my fiancee's computer. I was just getting used to all the weird key placements and now I have to re-train my muscle memory so I don't have to look at the keyboard for the punctuation keys.

Looking for jobs! I really want to find something that calls for a scientific background without being a lab tech. I'd really like something in writing, and I've seen some very juicy-looking ones that call for translating academic language into something more accessible. However all these writing jobs need sample writing, and though I was a "science correspondant" for a student newspaper, I've lost all of my articles that I wrote for them with the hard drive failure of my old computer in America. Bad luck for sure.

Working at the preschool. I wrangle kids and try to keep them from fighting each other while hoping that they pick up English when I speak it at them. Frequently when I ask them a question, they just stare back up at me with the biggest, cutest eyes in the world with a face that tells me they either didn't understand a word or are too scared of me to answer. One of the kids' dads is the Japanese sales representative for Independent Fabrications and he said he'd let me on one of the demo bikes, which is exciting.

Today, though, I've been doing none of those things. Everything has taken a side seat to figuring out who left me this mystery message on my phone last night. What a mystery! I have no idea whose number it is, though it's a Japanese cell phone number, and don't recognize the voice at all. Japanese phones have a nifty infra-red thing that makes exchanging information effortless so I am almost certain that everyone I've given my number to has given me theirs in turn. The caller addresses me by my first name, and then tells me to answer the phone in a slightly disappointed, slightly aggrieved tone, as if we had agreed to get in touch at that time (about 1:00 am here) and I failed to be there for him. It's a guy, it's an American, and he knows me and my phone number. Who is it!?! I called the number back after listening to the message a few more times, but it was 5:30 in the morning at that time (living with Keiko means I keep kind pretty much the same hours as her) and I got no answer.

Mystery man, if you're reading this, reveal yourself! Also, sorry for calling you at 5:30 in the morning. You were probably sleeping, and if you're like me you turned off the ringer and went back to sleep without waking up.

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