Earlier this year I was faced with a decision: to stay at the school I already worked at (which I loved), or transfer to a new one (new experiences, new teachers, new people to tell me how unbelievably attractive I am). The decision was made to encompass the best of both worlds: I would split my time half and half between one new and one old senior high school. I know, can't make a decision to save myself.
Two weeks in, and I'm fairly confident that the right decision was made. Of course, I'm confident right now, because it is midday on a Friday and I am flat on my back on my bed. It's easy to be confident about things when you're being lazy as all fuck. I have wasabi cheese and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on the duvet next to me and I'm fairly certain that the only vertical motions I'll be making all afternoon will be one sojourn to the shower to wash off the sweat from ALL THE EXERCISE I'M DOING. This wasn't the plan for today, though, oh no! Today, in fact, I woke up raring for some physical exertion. Seriously, I was ready to, like, climb things. I bought new track pants and everything. I even put my hair in a pony tail. Today was the day that the entire staff and student body of Kaisei High School was supposed to spend wandering along the open road to Lake Shikotsu, some forty kilometers away, in a huddled mass of janitors, Hello Kitty and umbrellas. WHY? I'm not exactly sure. Bonding? A break from the monotony of studysleepstudysleepstudysleep? Sadistic governmental motives?
So we all gathered at 8am at Makomanai Station, clad in track pants and Sensible Shoes (no polka dots), with backpacks full of rice balls and water and (in my case) eyeliner. Alas, Mother Nature shook a hairy fist at bonding. "Back!" she said, "Back to bed with you!" and together with her second cousin, Typhoon, she ushered me, barely protesting, back to Sumikawa, back on to my bike and back up the stairs to my apartment. So here I lie. Who am I to question the powers that be?
It has been interesting, adjusting to my changed school environments. The new schedule means that I alternate days back and forth between the two schools, which means that when I crack a bleary eyelid at 6am, my first thought is "Bkufsvjdsld" and my second is "Wtf, what day is it?" The two schools are situated on opposite sides of Sapporo, so a mistakenly caught train would result in severe lateness and abject embarrassment, so my commute is now a focused activity. Left or right, that is the question. I know, I know, my mental capacity should be greater than this... oh, well. I've managed to avoid fucking it up so far, except for one fateful Tuesday where I attempted to go to school, despite being feverish and generally ILL, and ended up passing out in the disabled stall in a subway bathroom. Sexy.
So far, the new school is going extremely well. I have been called Rihanna once and Lady Gaga twice, which might be ground for quitting on anyone else's yardstick, but for me represents significant positive affirmation. The teachers are friendly and organized and my only complaint is having to go to a different floor to use the bathroom. Oh, and that there are too many mirrors around. How can I keep up my mental certainty that I look like Rihanna, if I look in the mirror and see my mother 30 years ago? (You're pretty, Ma, I love you).
Back at the old school, things are much the same, with a couple of changed colleagues and a different working schedule. And the refrigerator in the staff room broke. Don't worry, I'll be fine.
I have become bored with my own blog, and also distracted. Outside my window, the typhoon, which was the cause of this morning's cancellation, has hit. This is some serious weather. Lucky I'm on the eleventh floor. Somebody send an Ark.
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