Hey, all. I'm a bit drunk, which should do to explain all the spelling and grammatical errors.
Today was a pretty tai-hen day (which means it was difficult). I went to Nishi-Sho with my helper-friend, S-Lan. We taught the hell out of some kids (five lessons straight!), but it just tuckered me out. The worst part is that, although this is my last week of regular elementary classes, Nishi-Sho went ahead and scheduled me for an appearance next week; which is, in short, a dick move.
After finishing today, I had another turd-sandwich to swallow; a meeting with Mr. Asshat himself. I needed to discuss my air tickets home (which of course, have nothing to do with the BOE). Despite describing my position to multiple important persons at the Jr. High School, somehow, the whole thing needed to be settled by a round-table discussion. Which wasn't, by far, the highlight of the meeting.
Nigel, despite wanting to stay in Yoshimi (past his JET term) until next April, is being refused entry to the schools of Yoshimi. Which makes about zero sense. Basically, the BOE wants an ALT who is fluent in Japanese (Nigel is), who understands what is required of him as a teacher (Nigel does), and who poses as few problems as possible for the completely incompetent directing crew at the BOE (Nigel hasn't asked them for a thing for years). So. basically, they're asking for Nigel, only not Nigel. And, because of this bizarre understanding of the universe, they are willing to put Nigel through a legitimately hellish set of trails (Visa problems as an "instructor", a new apartment, a job search which is disrupted from the average teaching year, etc.). It makes about zero goddamn sense.
And also, true to form, my boss is a total asshole to me, as well. Instead of staying in my apartment until July 31st (which I have to pay rent for), I have to evacuate on the 26th, because of contractual limitations which make about as much sense as a fucking screen-door submarine. Needless to say, I was pretty upset at the whole thing, as it forces me to find temporary lodging for my brother and I for a week in Japan (which I naively assumed would be taken care of).
In any case, after such a meeting, I needed a little drink. I went to the yakitoriya nearby my house, and ordered dinner and a beer. While I was eating and drinking, I began to converse with the old men around me, and began to really hit it off. But, it was a serious mistake to reveal that my birthday was tomorrow. The guy next to me, an old retired gentlman, kept buying me beers, and refusing to take no for an answer. The female yakitoriya owner brought out a cheesecake, put a candle in it, and proceeded to get the whole place to sing "Happy Birthday" in English for me. I have to say that it's one of those memories that will always stay with me; a whole room of foreign people, mostly men, singing in a foreign language just because of something which involves me that I can't help.
I was deeply touched.
And so, my deadline is not only approaching, it is continually racing closer and closer to the present. It's a compounding effect, which can't continue on. I'm losing almost a whole week of time in Japan because of some shit-silly decision by my boss. That's a loss that I suppose I can forgive, but I'm not willing to give any more. Every single day has become a kind of adventure to me, like it was at the beginning. I'm starting to see things through the lens of "the last," which is probably not a good sign. In the same way that experience "The Last Day" over and over again at the elementary schools has begun to dull my experience of the last last, so my experience of life in Japan is beginning to experience such troubles. I'm doing my best to keep them at bay, and enjoy the little things that Japan has yet to give me.
Please, wish me luck.
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