Happy Birthday to Me.

This is the last full week of elementary school schedule. And, although all my latest posts (when I've found the time to make them) are ostensibly all about the same thing, the evidence just keeps stacking up - I'm on my way out of here.

That said, I am totally overjoyed to be finishing up elementary schools. Sure, it's sad to have to say goodbye alot, but I'm beginning to feel like the time is right. Part of that is because I've already gone ahead and purchased my plane tickets for my return journey home, which I am incredibly pumped about. For starters, my brother Joe is coming to visit Japan for a week or so before we both hop on a plane out of Tokyo, headed for Europe. It's my virgin trip to Europe, but it seems like an excellent way to finish up what will certainly be remembered as "My Asian Year" ... that is until I opt to have another.

Somehow buying the plane ticket has made everything real and concrete; now I have a definite way home, a definite route with real times, an actual travel companion, etc. So, here I am. Rather than playing with an amorphous and uncertain plan, I've now got deadlines and a real sense of immediacy. I don't suppose I need to tell you how excited I am for this trip - Joe's my oldest friend as well as my brother, and I can't wait to share this trip with him, just the two of us. He's never left the US before, I think, and I'm really pumped to see his reaction to traveling in general. The first stop: Amsterdam. I've always wanted to go, and I'm more pumped about seeing a beautiful canal-city than any of the other stops we have planned.

That said, nothing can exactly be easy when I'm dealing with the Board of Education. Although I've taken the initiative to buy my own ticket - and made it abundantly clear that I am turning down the direct ticket from Narita to O' Hare that my BOE owes me, in favor of taking a pleasure trip, I still have to physically state my case to one of my least favorite people - Asshat. I honestly feel that I might incur some displeasure for deciding to take my return journey into my own hands. But, so it goes.

My birthday is on Wednesday. It's kind of weird to have a birthday away from home. I mean, as it is, I have made some really great friends, and I'm kind of excited to just go out for dinner and drinks with them, and just kind of enjoy what this birthday has to offer - a little different from previous years. But, the whole year's been like that.

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention! I was supposed to spend my birthday with the principal of one of the elementary schools - which I mentioned in "The Gaijin Files: The Case of the Energy Supplement". Well, he totally cancelled. ...In a really awkward way. He came to my house last Thursday, knocked on the door while I was talking to my brother in the states, and before I could answer, he opened the door. And I told him to hold on a minute, finished up my conversation, and ran outside, whereupon he told me in broken English "Your birthday ... My house ... No. No." So, I said "Some other place?" And he said "You ... me ... your birthday ... no." So, I asked in Japanese if he had become busy, or had other plans, and even in Japanese, he basically just said it was cancelled.

In a way, I'm really disappointed. Because, spending a Wednesday night getting Japanese-drunk with a boss who speaks very little English would at least be an interesting way to celebrate my 23rd birthday. But ... then again, on the other hand, it's probably for the best. I mean, I can't imagine things would just proceed totally smoothly all night - he hardly speaks a word of English, and my (drunk) Japanese is not good enough to carry an hours-long conversation covering topics that the sober mind shrinks from considering.

In any case, I've got a nice group of friends, a nice little city, a nice little bar, and a nice little life. And I couldn't ask for any more than that.