Entries this day: Immigration_office boundary_help carla!! reunion

Immigration office

12:18pm JST Wednesday 13 April 2011 (day 14994)

I've just arrived at the immigration office to give them a copy of my UH transcript, which, with my 3 year work contract, will hopefully be enough to assure them I'm deserving of a three year engineering visa.

2:28pm JST Wednesday 13 April 2011 (day 14994)

grrrr. That was a stupid amount of wasted time.

My errors:

1. not recognizing the line near the bottom of the page, which included "go to counter 5"

2. not asking the nice people at the front desk where I should go

   I spent 40 minutes waiting for my number to be called

3. assuming when the guy said "go to counter 3" that I should go to counter 3.

   I spent only 10 minutes in that line.

4. After showing the guy that my transcript did, in fact, include an indication that I had graduated, I asked if he needed my passport. He said he didn't need it. He didn't say "today is finished," which is my translation of what they always say when waiting is pointless because it will take more than a day.

   20 more minutes waiting before I was like wtf, and went back to the counter. "oh, today is finished."

Thanks, bro.

These are the times that I hate Japan.

I went outside after throwing a bit of water over my head to cool off, and the bus was just leaving. The driver saw me and stopped. Okay, I don't hate Japan anymore.

boundary help

8:13pm JST Wednesday 13 April 2011 (day 14994)

We played a game that allowed only two words: "help" and "boundary"

I learned:

1. I enjoy playing creatively within just a few rules

2. I'm not afraid of being temporarily in the dark

3. people don't pay attention

4. Divy is ticklish

5. The game might be more fun with more people

carla!!

5:36pm JST Wednesday 13 April 2011 (day 14994)

Sweet. I saw Carla just ahead of me leaving Takadanobaba station; she was with Yuuka, who I actually recognized from behind. I meant to surprise her, but instead she was like, "you scared me; I could feel someone approaching quickly... Rob!!!"

I said HI to her, Yuuka, and Kazzah for a bit up in the GET office and then headed out to Artists Way workshop. Carla is here for a couple weeks to join a work team up in Tohoku area with PB. Awesome!

ps: it's not 100% ridiculous that I met her; I knew from FB that she was coming, and knew she'd be in Takadanobaba tonight for a quick 52 and 54th reunion!

reunion

11:29pm JST Wednesday 13 April 2011 (day 14994)

Great to see Carla, Yuuka, Kazzah, Maruan, Kyoko, Natalie, Tony, Laura, Rei, Chieko tonight at the 52+54 GET+CC reunion.

I was worried that it would be bigger and that I'd remember the names of a low percent of the participants, but everything was great. Got to chat with Tony and Maruan for a significant time each, and found out the latest haps with them and with Kyoko (who's working for Zynga of Farmville fame).

Now that I'm working, Lin and I'll be hanging out with them a bit more.

Hugged Natalie bigly and found out that her Lin did the same thing with his Chinese last name (Lin (林)) and made it his first name in Japanese). Sweet!

Awesomely, I tried to step across the table, using the overhead beam to gracefully suspend myself, but my left foot knocked over a tall ceramic cup which broke a smaller ceramic bowl that cushioned its fall. oops! Thanks to Natalie for making sure I was okay. :-)

I was a bit embarrassed, but realized it was no worse than Cheney directing world trade center destruction on Airplane Day.