Happy birthday to me!

Recently it was my birthday! Another year to panic about and hope I'm doing okay. My birthday itself was pretty low-key since I had to work, but I got a present from a thoughtful student, some chicken skewers in a smokey bar and an evening watching First Dates with my friends, so I can't really complain. Still, it didn't really feel like a birthday. My new age feels big and wrong on me, like a jumper that's been stretched out in the wash. Fortunately, the day after my birthday I got a long weekend off thanks to a national holiday, so I was able to spend a bit more time doing fun things.

I celebrated by heading out to a karaoke room in nearby Inuyama. Previously, I'd only ever been to big karaoke places where everyone gets their own private rooms, but my friends love this place for its thoroughly weird but extremely friendly and fun atmosphere. It's owned by an old couple who can't possibly make any money from the place, seeing as whatever you pay they end up returning to you threefold in snacks. Within half an hour they'd brought us plates of sandwiches, fruit, rice balls, cream puffs, big bottles of orange juice, wine punch and some sake, and we'd only paid for about two songs. Their extreme niceness convinced me to put aside my anxieties about singing in public, and I went ahead and inflicted my voice on the handful of other people in the room. That part wasn't fun for anyone, I'm sure. But the rest of the time was good.

The last couple of weeks have been very busy. I finished up at my job, which was weird, and I've moved into a new place (a little further out of town, but bigger and nicer for less money). There was a lot of stress involved in the move, of course - a lot of last-minute hawking of my old stuff to acquaintances, a lot of subway trips weighed down with suitcases and backpacks, a lot of angry scrubbing at wall stains that just wouldn't go away and which I'm fairly sure were here when I moved in anyway. When I had to hand over my key to my landlord, I couldn't find it in my pocket due to all the other random crap I'd shoved in there, causing a mortifying panic. But I didn't cry or scream once the whole time, so I think I did okay. I'm feeling settled in at the new flat now, which is mostly all sorted except for the fact that our curtains are made of paper. The next few months should be exciting, mainly dedicated to Japanese study, travelling, and working on the next stages of my glittering career. Watch this space!