Countryside in Japan

November 8

Hot Springs. I traveled to the Owakudani Valley, a valley of former volcanic activity and hot springs. The hot springs are important in this area since it is the main resource for the traditional Japanese hot spring baths. For some reason, I assumed that I would be able to actually take a bath in the hot springs, in which you would be naked while bathing. After finding out it was over 140 degrees Fahrenheit and a very public tourist spot, I realized that it was a hot spring that you observe not bathe in or free-ball in. This hot spring is also known for their boiled eggs. They say if you eat an egg boiled from this hot spring water, you will be able to add seven years to your life. I didn’t eat the egg though. They only came in packs of five and I really didn’t want to add on 35 years of the bad, elderly years.  Seeing the steam spout up from the ground was pretty amazing. The smell was not. It smelled like cow manure. You could also see Mount Fuji, well the bottom of Mount Fuji since it was very cloudy. Mount Fuji is the tallest point in Japan. It is a mountain that is prayed to by Shinto believes since they believed that if they pray to the mountain, they will simmer its anger and prevent it from erupting again. Seeing some of the leftover molt blanket the mountain sides was pretty remarkable. Lava is a daunting effect. It reminds me of the 1997 movie Volcano (clever title right?).

Atami. The next town I ventured into was Atami, in which I stayed in traditional Japanese style ryokan room. The room was beautiful. It had tatami floors (bamboo screened mats), futon beds (flat and hard as a rock), and paper screens as windows. I was even able to have a traditional Japanese dinner in a custom Japanese yukata robe, a lightweight kimono usually worn during the summertime.  The dining room setting was quite interesting as it was a small compact room with a very short stubby table. The dining room did not allow for shoes as most people are supposed to kneel or sit with their legs crossed (Indian style or criss cross apple sauce as some call it) on the ground cushions.  Dinner consisted of small dishes with tempura, miso soup, a variety of sashimi, and some other unknowns. I was adventurous and actual ate most of what was given to me. I even had my first try of Japanese sake in Japan. It was strong and I didn’t need too much to be at a happy place. I even got the courage to do some karaoke in front of other people. It has been a while since I drank so my tolerance for alcohol is very low. I sang Killing Me Softly pretty badly, stumbling over my words and forgetting to sing for significant portions of the song. But I was drunk so it wasn’t the best rendition. But at least now I can say that I’ve done some authentic karaoke in Japan

Bath Houses. One of the highlights of staying in this ryokan inn is that you were able to partake in a hot spring bath. In these public baths, they use the natural hot spring water from the neighboring mountains. It is said to have good minerals for your skin and can purify any damages done to your body. But, you have to be completely naked during this process. So I tried it out! First I went in with my yukata robe, slippers, a bath towel, and a small hand towel. I went into the changing room and started to de-robe. As I sported a bare look, I walked into a room full of very naked, elderly Japanese women. Usually most people in Japan find this exhibition of nakedness more usual than foreigners like myself. They even call it a ‘naked friendship’ as being nude together helps to secure a steady bond and helps to place all people on an equal level (the level of not having any clothes on—we can all be embarrassed together).  Completely naked, I waltz right into the bathing area. As a standard rule and common courtesy, I shower off any filth I’ve gathered up from the day before dipping into the hot spring water. You are required to sit down with a detachable hose while showering. They ask you not to stand up since it would be inappropriate to display your goodies right in front of the faces of those sitting and washing themselves (and they have funny pictures to display this misconduct). In Japanese tradition, these baths are usually taken right before dinner, before sleeping, and right when you wake up. I just did it once. Once is enough public nudity for me.

Japanese Toilets. Asian countries are known for having the less conventional bathroom features (at least less conventional for Westerners). The squat toilet is a cultural feature of Japan that I steered away from. I just don’t know if I would be able to bend that way. Also, how about the consequences you could run into? What if I’m wearing pants? What if I slip and fall during? What if I can’t aim properly? But I did try other functions of their more high-tech, multi-functioned toilets. For example, I tried the badai and the spray, two different function buttons on the toilet but they both have similar effects. They had a toilet cleaner, a toilet warmer, and my favorite one of all, the flushing sound effect. There is a button you can press that will produce a flushing sound that masks whatever sound you are making. This can be either self-regulated or automatic while sitting on the toilet. This is not in all bathrooms but it seemed to be in every hotel or restaurant I’ve been to so far.

Not So Little Tokyo

November 7

Toyko. I arrived in Tokyo the next day. Tokyo is beautiful city with a lot of wonderful history and cultural traditions. Japan has about 128 million people. Tokyo has about 30 million residents, a little over 40% of the total Japanese population! Tokyo is a big tourist city as it has Tokyo Disneyland, the Imperial Palace, and numerous shops and famous restaurants. And I got to see it all!

Japan’s Wall Street. My first stop was the Financial District in Tokyo. When in the city during the morning rush hour, I immediately witnessed a flood of black on the streets. Black suits, that is. Everyone, even women, wore what seemed to be same black suit. Black jacket, black pant, white collared shirt, black briefcase, and a black tie (some deterred from black). It was amazing seeing them all line up on the curb and head across the street. I think I might start investing in a suit company here in Japan. I actually heard that they have a very strict dress code in Japan. But more recently, companies have been more lenient about work attire because of warmer weather and national efforts to lower the country’s energy usage since the disaster last March. Instead of air conditioning, men are allowed to take off their ties during the months of summer. But everything else stays on during the work day. Another interesting fact is that most Japanese only hold one job throughout their whole lives. After graduating from college, once they get a job, they have lifetime security. It is very odd for a Japanese citizen to switch careers more than once (like many Americans). Most people commute to work by walking or riding their bikes. Even people in nice suits can be seen riding a three speed bicycle down the main street. If they do commute, they usually live in the outskirts of Tokyo, in which the average commute time would be 70 minutes. Sounds like Los Angeles!

Tokyo Imperial Palace. After passing through the financial district, I reached the Imperial Palace. The Imperial Palace is an exotic castle surrounded by a large moat, luxuriant garden, and rigid, emotionless guards. Most of the buildings of the Imperial Palace were destroyed during World War II. The palace is only open two days during the year, Jan 2 (New Year’s) and December 23 (The Emperor’s First Day). So they wouldn’t let me in. But I took some pictures.

I journeyed through the gardens, taking pictures of the scenery. After almost being pommelled by stampeding tourists and being laughed at by the locals (still don’t know why), I escaped towards the neighboring gardens. I took a seat amongst the homeless men and women basking in the sun. Surprisingly, the Japanese homeless look a bit classier than the homeless back in the States. They look more prepared as they had matching tarps to lie on, hats to shield their faces, and bags and bags of metal cans. They actually don’t beg for money I heard. They are more self-efficient as they will find cans along the streets and make money by recycling.

There was a statue of Kusunoki Masashige, a 14^th century samurai soldier in the garden. This samurai was immortalized because of his accomplishments in taking down the shogunate government of his time. In the past, the shogun and the emperor fought over control of Japan. In the beginning, Japan was ruled by an Emperor until the shogun took over when the emperor’s reign became weak. Once westernization infiltrated Japanese culture and business, the shogun didn’t feel competent enough to fight off new influences and potential rebellions so the shogun handed over control to the emperor. Presently, the Emperor still has power and rule over Japan. Kusunoki Masashige’s statue is placed in front of the palace to symbolize protection of the emperor. Funny fact: All bathrooms in the immediate area were strategically positioned so that the toilets face your butt away from the palace. It is considered disrespectful to face your butt towards royalty. Who would’ve thought?

Asakusa. I was able to spend the day in Asakusa, a district in Tokyo. Asakusa is known for the Sensoji Temple, the Asakusa Shrine, and the Asahi Beer Headquarters. I didn’t get to visit the beer headquarters but the building was pretty remarkable. It is shaped and colored like a glass of beer and foam. It’s also right next to the tallest TV tower in Japan and the Golden Poop (I have no idea…). I was able to visit the temple and shrine instead. Most Japanese people are either Shinto or Buddhist.

I walked around the market place and people-watched for a bit. There was a significant amount of school children at this site, wearing uniforms and looking as if they came right off the gory island in Battle Royale. I guess it must be field trip season. I went into some of the shops and was completely deterred by all the prices. I was not necessarily put off by the actual converted price of the products but viewing the cost in Yen is pretty scary initially. When the price tag of a Japanese fan says 1,500, I think that there is no way I’m spending that much on a piece of decorated rice paper and bamboo. It makes it easier to walk away. This has been very good for my wallet so far. Even when buying a car here in Japan, the price will be shown as a couple million yen. Scary, huh?

Milk Tea. I bought my first milk tea in Japan! Trying to buy it was difficult though. I knew that tea was ‘ocho’ in Japanese so when I approached the counter, I tried using that word several times. In order to specify that I wanted milk tea, I had to figure out how to say milk. But I didn’t know how to say milk in Japanese. So senselessly, I tried saying milk using other languages to solve this problem. English, Spanish, Mandarin, and French did not work. Funny enough, the American Sign Language gesture for milk (hands gesture like your milking a cow) worked out and I got my milk tea. It cost about 300 Yen. It was not the best but I was so excited that I took several pictures of me holding the drink.

Before entering the temple, you are required to be purified. A way to do this is by using the provided Purell hand sanitizer located at the... Just kidding. Can you imagine? You actually have to go to the nearby spiritual fountain and go through a sequence of steps to be purified. First, you take the ladle of water and pour it on your left hand and then your right hand. Then you pour it in your hand to sip it (to clean filthy mouths). But you should probably spit it out since I’m pretty sure it might be recycled. Gross, now that I think about it, putting it in your mouth already does most of the damage. I should’ve thought about this earlier. Lastly you clean the handle of the ladle by tipping it upright, letting the water slowly drip down. And then you can use Purell, if desired.

I wanted to read my fortune as well. I figured I will be going on a long journey. I can use all the luck I can get. There is a building near the temple that allows you to find out your fortune. It’s a bit more sophisticated than a fortune cookie supposedly. First, you shake the metal canister, pull out a bamboo stick, and read the Chinese character. Then you match the character to one of the drawers on the outside of the structure and pull out your fortune from the drawer. If it is a good fortune, you place it in your wallet and keep it with you at all times. This will solidify your destiny. If it’s a bad fortune, you tie is on these wire lines or bamboo lines, amongst the others with bad luck. This gives away your bad luck. My fortune was neither good nor bad and didn’t really make sense at all. Hmm…a hundred yen, worth it?

Burning incense at this temple will provide you luck and beauty. To ensure that their child is attractive, some people burn this incense by their baby’s head (sounds dangerous really). Because of my ambiguous fortune earlier, I tried to at least get some luck in the beauty department. I will be roughing it out for the next couple months. Things can get pretty ugly with humidity causing acne, infected and fluid-secreting mosquito bites, and a more natural, pungent perfume I’ll most likely be carrying around. I expect to go through puberty again with the environment I will be encountering in Thailand. So I burned some incense (not by my head unfortunately) and placed it among the others determined to be beautiful.

The Fashion District. The Ginza district is a shopping region in Japan typically compared to New York’s Fifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive in Las Vegas. It is flashy, elaborate, and expensive. Even the buildings seem to be made out of silver and gold as they glimmered and sparkled when the sun fell upon it. I didn’t buy anything. Mainly because of the prices but also because now I’m definitely over the weight limits for my bags since buying that umbrella and Pocky. I did pretend to try on clothes at one of the clothing shops though. All day, I was wearing my shirt inside out. So I walked into a shop, grabbed a shirt from the rack and ran into the back to change my own top. I probably more jet-lagged than I thought.

I actually did buy a Japanese waffle as I window shopped Ginza. They sell these small waffles that they brush with maple syrup or icing and sell it to you for a couple of dollars. It was pretty good but it was one of those situations when you walk by a shop and get so completely drawn in by the smell that you have to purchase something or at least be near it (like one does with gas stations sometimes…no?). It definitely smelled better than it tasted. After finishing my waffle, I tried to throw away the paper wrap that came with it. I searched for 15 minutes and could not find a single trash can around. Turns out, the government recently got rid of most of the public trash cans in Japan primarily because one fool used a trash cans as a holding station for his homemade bomb. It’s always one person that ruins it for the rest of us. So I just stuffed the sticky wrapper in my pocket and forgot about it for a couple of days.

Shibuya Night Life. Later that night, I arrived in Shibuya, Tokyo. This city seemed to have the night life of the town. With countless sporadic lights and gigantic television screens, it reminded me of New York’s Times Square. In the middle of the towering buildings, there was a massive crosswalk that allowed people to cross from every side of the street at the same time, even right through the middle. It was definitely a sight to see! All types of people crossed this crosswalk; business men, teeny bopper fashionistas, staggering old ladies, and tourists (like me!). I purposely walked across this crosswalk several times so I can take pictures of unaware and unique individuals. Some were not too happy with a camera in their face and others struck a pose once they saw my camera go up.

I started to get hungry so I walked around the restaurant region of the town. At first, I tried relying on the pictures of menu items they placed out front their restaurant. But I couldn’t understand the signs and some didn’t list their price. I didn’t want to spend too much money so early on in my trip so I was searching for a meal that was around 1,000 yen (about 12 dollars). After relentlessly searching, I finally decided to go into some of the restaurants to see what they were serving. Each menu seemed to be in Japanese, so I started relying on my broken Japanese by asking “Eigo menyuu?” which I loosely translates into, “English menu?” Most people would say ‘lie’ (no) by crossing their arms or their fingers in an X gesture. I walked around for an hour before finding a place that looked to have cold soba. I haven’t had soba since I was little. Remember when you were young and you would be envious if your friends had food that your parents never made or packed for lunch. You may not even like it but it becomes even more enthralling when someone else has it. My childhood food envy, strangely enough, was soba. I’m not the biggest fan of cold soba (which are cold noodles with a special dipping sauce), but it reminded me of childhood, the incessant feeling of fitting in, and it was something that was authentic in Japanese cuisine. So I walked into this little shop and ordered my food by pointing at the picture on the menu. This meal was about 1,300 yen and it was good! Cold soba and tempura. Yum!

After eating my meal, I tried finding my way back home. But I got extremely lost amongst the bustle of people. I tried retracing my steps and taking the same path over and over hoping it would restore my memory of the original route. But I kept on hitting a dead end. I knew the hotel I was staying at was very tall but for some reason I couldn’t seem to find it. I ended up sitting down on the curb for a while since I was tired of hopelessly walking around. I didn’t want to ask for directions, not only because my Japanese was very limited (very, very limited) but also because I was pretty embarrassed that I got lost. I’m usually very good at exploring and finding my way around (except when I’m driving…sigh) but usually this sense of direction is heightened when I’m drinking for some reason. And I wasn’t drinking. Shibuya was a pretty big town so I started to get nervous.

I tried not to get too anxious so I walked around a bit, looking at the shops and restaurant menus. I made myself take my time and kept on reassuring myself that I will find my way back. I even took my time to find a milk tea shop and got my second milk tea of the day. With the milk tea in hand, I walked around the alley parts of downtown, hoping that a different route would miraculously lead me to my hotel. After passing through several alley ways and what seemed to be some Japanese gangbangers (snicker…), I found my hotel. I was glad to be back. The positive spirit of my milk tea and my strong will to not freak out got me safe at home.

Japan Here I Come!

November 6

After almost 24 hours of traveling, I have arrived in Japan! Japan is a country known for its mythical past, graceful people, and scenic and pristine atmosphere. But the recent destruction caused by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant blast has deterred people from visiting Japan. Tourism plays a big role in Japanese lifestyle and unfortunately the industry has taken quite a hit. But I’m here touring the mystics of this industrious and quaint island of the East, hoping to explore early architecture and deep-rooted cultural practices left behind from the samurai era.

Downtown Narita. I arrived at the Narita airport and took a cab to my hotel. It cost about 1,800 yen ($23) for a 10 minute drive.  After settling down at my hotel for a short while, I was ready to explore town. I took the local bus to go to Downtown Narita. I was very excited as I expected to see beautiful Buddhist Temples, disorderly market places, and a plethora of people pushing through the crowd. After I got off the bus, I started walking down the main street towards what I thought would have some sort of activity. But there wasn’t any activity at all.

Narita’s downtown was lifeless. I was the only person walking the streets and almost every shop was closed. I kept on walking down the street, farther and farther away from the bus station, in hopes of encountering something interesting. Once I was far enough away from anything and anyone, it started pouring rain. I didn’t bring an umbrella. But I embraced the rain, for a while at least. It just started to get pretty cold and wet. I finally found a shop that was opened and ran in. Sadly, my first official purchase in Japan was Pocky chocolate, coffee, and an umbrella. Nothing too authentic or tourist-like I guess. I finally made my way back to the bus station with my new souvenirs. Later I found out that the street that I assumed would take me to the heart of Narita was actually just a side road. So Narita was probably much more exciting than I what I experienced. 

Leaving on a Jet Plane

November 5-6

I think I get most of my stress from my mom. Honestly, she worries about everything. Being in my hometown the last couple days couldn’t have been more traumatic; racking up a total of 4 hours of sleep, driving at least 600 miles, my mom ceaselessly nagging and yelling at me, and my long list of things to do (visas, appointments, packing). These two days were definitely eventful. I didn’t even have time to give my sister a real goodbye. I had to bombard her at work (she is a server too!), and steal her away from her tables to give her a hug goodbye.

After my mom bothered my dad and me for being slow and late all the time, we finally took off for the San Francisco airport. My mom is great with time-management. Though this concept is mostly broadcasted by her own self, I’ll admit, she is never late for anything. But it’s a characteristic I both love and hate. When my sister and I were little, my mom would make sure we were on time for everything. But on time did not mean on the dot or 5 minutes early. No, it meant at least 45 minutes early. Once we got to the airport four hours before take-off because she said that we were going to be late. Note: This was not an international flight. We couldn’t even get into the terminal since it was 6 in the morning and everything was still closed (even the security gate!). My sister and I were upset since we sat there and waited three hours and twenty minutes until we boarded our plane. This has happened a lot for our volleyball practices or tournaments, in which we would be sitting outside the gym in the cold desperately waiting for the doors to open.

After such a stressful month, I decided to ignore all my mother’s worries. I just assumed that if I were to mess up so early on the trip to be able to miss my plane, I really wasn’t meant to go traveling anywhere by myself. We got to the airport and I checked in my jam-packed bags. I was really hoping to travel light this trip. But now that I will be experiencing two seasons (winter and summer), I had to pack a lot more than expected. One bag had all of my Thailand gear (books, teaching material/supplies, twenty-something skirts, diarrheal medicine, and a whole lot of insect repellent). The other bag had my winter gear (for Japan, Korea, and China). Winter clothes tend to be pretty bulky too. I just barely fit everything into my two bags and barely made the weight limit for both luggage. I can’t believe I’ll be trucking along with all of this for the next couple months. For my own physical well-being, I think I’m going to try to arrange a trade off with some of my family members in Taiwan since I won’t need my winter clothes in Thailand.

I then said my goodbyes. I said goodbye to my mom, who still was trying to convince me to not go. I tried saying goodbye to my dad, who was relentlessly coaching me about converters and computer backup systems even after passing through the security check. After giving my last goodbyes, I walked towards my gate. Then I cried.

Originally, my flight was supposed to fly to Taiwan and then immediately to Bangkok, Thailand. With the recent change, my flight now goes to Taiwan and then I connect with another flight to Narita, Japan. My flight to Taiwan was actually pretty nice. We had movie screens in front of each seat, blankets and pillows, and pretty good food. I didn’t take advantage of all the amenities since I was exhausted from the preceding months. So I slept most of the flight. Surprisingly, there weren’t any crying babies on this trip. The sound of crying babies are usually the typical background melody I’m stuck with when flying anywhere.

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Person Highlight

My flight companion is named Brett, who was actually supposed to be on the same flight route as me until I changed my path to Japan. Brett is a twenty-eight year old man who resides in Maui, Hawaii. He used to live in Wyoming before he picked up a career in whale watching in the Pacific Ocean. He now works as a tour guide for whale watching tours in both Hawaii and Alaska. He is traveling to Southern Thailand, Ko Phi Phi , to hang out with friends and participate in water sports (not the sexual activity). He has never been to Thailand and is going to country on a whim. He is planning on staying until December. We exchanged contact information so hopefully I’ll be able to meet up with him sometime during my trip. So maybe we’ll hear more about his life later on.

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After getting off the plane in Taiwan, I found my next gate and sat down. After going through security and obtaining my next plane ticket, I realized I already left something behind. I brought along one of those airplane pillows that I’m usually embarrassed to carry around since it’s rather indulgent. It does work though. I will be taking lots of plane flights within the next couple weeks and months so I thought I should try to maintain the nerves and muscles in my neck as much as possible. But I left it on the plane. Before even taking a step on foreign soil, I have already lost something on this trip. This is definitely something I’m prone to do, losing things. If I were to have a super power, one of the top ones I would choose from is the ability to find everything I’ve lost in the past, present, and future. That power and the power to projectile vomiting on command, which is something my friend Chris and I wished we were able to do when customers at our restaurant were annoying us. Usually I would stress out about losing anything but I’m trying to have a new mentality—especially when traveling for 7 months. I decided that if I lose something, I wasn’t meant to have it on this trip. This attitude will help ease my mind as I will probably lose a lot. Though, I will not utilize this same outlook when it comes to my passport. My passport would be a devastating thing to lose overseas.

Since it was about 6 in the morning, I was the only person in the airport for a long while. It was a bit lonely but I made myself at home. I found the only plug in the area and sat down on the ground with my belongings scattered around me. I think people found me rather odd, sitting on the ground and all. I used this time to write and observe my surroundings. I got on my next plane and slept majority of the time. I think I might have defeated jet-lag!

I Will Miss...

November 5, 2011

I know that I’m not going to be gone for too long but I feel like I’m leaving a pretty good life in the US. These are the things I am going to miss when traveling:

My Family. My mom, my dad, my sister—I don’t get to see them too often since they live 7 hours away, but now I’m even farther away from them. Even phone calls are going to be more infrequent. I’ll probably end up missing my mom’s pestering phone calls and worries about me getting kidnapped or dying. Oh wait! I’m sure she’ll manage to find a way to nag or stress me out all the way out in Thailand. But I will miss her legitimate concerns for my well-being.  I’ll miss my dad’s strange sense of humor, deep and neurotic care for education and technology, and his long, drawn out tech instructions that I impatiently and sometimes refuse to listen to. I’ll miss my sister’s blunt statements, her morbid perception of the world, and her ‘I don’t take crap from anyone’ attitude. Though it is rare when we talk, I know to depend on her when I need someone to be slap me around a bit.

My Friends. I don’t even know where to start. I will miss friends that I have made through school, through work, volleyball, and through other associations. I will miss my times with the Lull Street Boys in Reseda—dancing, singing, and drinking into the night. My road trips with Lacey to LA, Silverado, Laguna Canyon, Cha, her house, my house, Target, Tea Station, work, Orange, the beach………oh Dirty Mistress.  I will also miss our secret love affair, girl talks, and scissoring hand gestures used to make her brother, Ricky, uncomfortable. I will miss going to the Daily Dose, Friday’s, or Dirty Nelly’s with co-workers for drinks after a long hard shift at work. I will miss the friends that I’m never able to see because of schedule conflicts and their progressing careers (Lara, Chelsea, Bita, my volleyball teammates). I will miss friends I’ve made at my restaurant (…). I will miss the friends I have made and still maintain friendships with from the teaching program (Connie, Ziva, and Richard). Someone visit me please!

My Volleyball Team. I will miss VBC (cleverly named VBC after VolleyBall Club—recently changed to, Amped). I will miss my teammates. My teammates are great! They are seriously the most encouraging and inspiring group of people. I don’t get to see them too often but when I do, we tend to make fun memories. I loved our experiences with Amber’s delicious amaretto Jell-O shots, making fun of Danny’s extreme tardiness behind his back (LAX), our inability to give high fives, and the first fight I almost started (and ended) across the net. I’ll be back guys! Hopefully my back will heal in time!

My Beach Volleyball Group. I will miss playing with Guillermo, Lauren, and the rest of the crew. I will miss getting strawberry lemonades, trying to dive and roll in the sand, getting my first Oakley sunglasses (which I believe make me look like a professional beach volleyball player), having fans that both watched and played in some of our games (Lacey: “Great fist Christy! You’re such a great fister! Me: “Uhh, do you know what that means?”), and getting sand sucked up every orifice of my body. One thing I probably won’t miss is getting up at 6 AM every Saturday morning.   

My Restaurant. I will miss all the employees the most! I’ve had such wonderful experiences with all of them. I will miss my incessant bread breaks in the morning (when not one customer would come in for the first hour and a half of the shift), our incestial relationships with each other (it comes in phases I think), hitting on Jorge, Bryan ditching me during dinner and my dad giving him a verbal beat down, stealing tons of serronos and lemons from the kitchen, chipotle chicken pizza, my bread fight with Marissa, the ‘worst shift ever’ contest (compliments of Chris, Tom, and me—it lasted one shift…), writing funny reasons for getting a shift off (Pearl Harbor reenactment & AdultCon), the dream team of managers, the kitchen staff (‘me amour’..Pshh! You all use that on everyone), persistently asking to eat all the food mistakes, discriminating against almost all races, freeze tag (what a great idea Eric!), complaining about everything with Alanna, “Does it look like I have socks(sex)?” dilemma (I like having black ‘socks’), wearing the strap-on to work (oops!) and rubbing it up against RJ, pie-ing former employees and getting pied myself—twice!, and everyone and everything (except the actual work part of the job).

Ruby. Ahh! Ruby, I will miss my projectile vomiting, incessantly whining, avidly hungry, happy-go-lucky pup! I have raised this crazy and delightful dog since she was a little thing. She was the worst during my first year with her (my carpets will never be white again!). But, since being potty-trained (kind of), she is the most amazing dog. I’m going to miss her energy, playfulness, and feistiness. I’m going to miss her sleep talking and attempts to jump into your lap when you’re not looking. Whenever having people over to hang out, we usually all stop talking to each other and instead watch my dog furiously chew on a 12’bull’s penis. She loves the 12 inchers. It’s mesmerizing for some reason.  I won’t miss her humping her bed (I can always tell that she humped her bed when her bed is across the room…gross). I will miss her face—her scrunched up, sad-looking face.

 
Certain Foods. I will miss burgers, buffalo wings, and pizza (only from CPK—other pizzas usually remind me of phemaldehyde). I will mainly miss buffalo wings (which I usually consider to be in a completely different category than most foods). I will miss Mexican food, Italian food, and CPK. I will miss going to Cha to get milk tea! My favorite! Well, there should be a ton in Asia!

Dexter Night. I love Dexter! How weird is it to root for a serial killer? By the way, is a serial monogamist a person who kills off any chance of having relationships with other people? What do you think? Keyword: kill. Every Tuesday night, Ricky, Lacey, and I get food, share a bottle of wine, and watch episode after episode (if we are so lucky!) of Dexter. Then, we talk about Michael C. Hall. Then we analyze the show and its stupid but invigorating cliff-hangers. Tuesday nights could not get here sooner!

TV Shows. I will miss all my TV shows that I am hooked on. If I am ever having a bad, sad, happy, or celebratory day, the perfect remedy or present to myself is to order buffalo wings and milk tea and enjoy my meal watching one of my favorite TV shows (Dexter, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, Weeds, and more). I’ll admit, some guilty pleasures do include Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl, and Vampire Diaries (I never thought I would be into vampires until this show). I don’t usually like reality TV shows (especially Jersey Shore…come on! Really?). Now I’m just starting It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Arrested Development. I bought the first couple of seasons to watch on my trip. So excited!

Things I won’t miss…

Driving. Don't want to talk about it.

Winter. I get cold very easily. Even 70 degrees prompts me to put on a sweater. Every year, I dread the winter time. The only part I like about it is less shaving and less razor burn. All throughout high school and college, I used to go through three month phases in which I would not shave my legs. It used to be fun to show people my progress. They usually thought it was just gross but I told them that the extra hair on my legs helped cause friction when rubbed up against my pants. This friction helped me during the cold weather. And keep in mind, this cold weather I’m talking about is California’s version of winter. I would never survive on the east coast. When in Thailand, I will actually be living there during their coldest season, the cool season. The cool season usually has temperatures ranging from 75- 90 degrees with slight humidity. I’m so excited. The only problem is because of the conservative nature of Thai society; sleeveless tops and shorts are considered disrespectful and are greatly frowned upon. So things will be sweaty!  Funny thing, that’s what I wore to my job interview for my restaurant three years ago: a halter top, shorts, and thong sandals. And I got the job! I don’t think they would allow this anymore I’ve been told.

Serving. I won’t miss working as a server. It’s frustrating the way customers treat you sometimes. They treat you like a lowly person. There is a lack of concern coming from the customers. You can have crazy situations like eight tables at the same time, the kitchen is super busy, food is coming out at different times, we ran out of bread, we didn’t bring out the FREE bread (that we aren’t even supposed to bring out unless requested), customers are picky or have severe allergies, customers down their drinks every two minutes, customers request for multiple things (red pepper, side of ranch) but ask you for each individually every time you bring out one of the items, customer doesn’t know what an artichoke is and wants you to describe it, customers tell you they are ready but make you wait as they casually discuss what they should eat with their friends, customers tell you that Cheesecake Factory is much better and expect you to do something about it, customers decide to wear white shirts when you spill red wine on them, teenagers (enough said), customers’ bill is $13.78 and they give you a hundred to get change, customers wave you down while you are taking another table’s order, customers want all separate checks for a party of 20, water without ice, hot teas... Sorry now I’m just going on a tangent. Even the kids at your tables are rude to you at times. I’ve had kids yell at me, knock into me (all full of plates) while using their rollies in the restaurant, color all over the tables and walls with crayon (while their parents suck down a couple more martinis), jump up and down on the seat cushion (Does this look like a bouncy house?), seen a kid demand for an iPad instead of a coloring book, have their eyes glued to their iPads all throughout dinner, throw a noodle at me,…

I used to want tons of kids but since serving I stopped wanting any. This view has recently changed because of the whole teacher thing and all but I also realized that a lot of times, kids are like that because of the parents. So if the parents won’t do anything, I’ll make sure to instill some good and considerate behavior in them when they’re in my classroom. I’ll put the smack down on them (not literally…depends on my mood). Nevertheless, I have met some of the worst people serving but I have met some of the best people as well. Though great people are few to come by in the restaurant industry, they definitely help to make up for the bad ones. And now when writing all these bad experiences down, I realize that these bad experiences do make for some pretty darn good stories.

Basically, there is a lot that I’ll be missing when I leave. I bet I’ll be homesick for a while. But maybe I’ll be able to come up with a similar list for Thailand at the end of my trip. I hope!

The Flood Debacle

November 3, 2011

For a couple of weeks, I have been hearing of the flood in Thailand. Both my parents were worried for me and they kept on telling me not to go. But I have intentionally ignored the warnings. If I took everything my parents worried about to heart and made decisions based on them, I would never go anywhere or do anything. So I just assumed it will soon go away.

Since the beginning of my trip, my mother has been terrified of me traveling to Thailand. She contacted her friend who lived in Thailand for a while to gather more information about the country. This same guy has been forwarding emails to my mom and me regarding Thai culture, food, and people. So far these emails have been very helpful and I’ve appreciated his effort and attention to detail. Especially his comments about drug trafficking in Thailand and the death penalty sentence one would get when involved with drugs. Not that I’m a recreational drug user or even an experimental user but this was helpful information to me since even helping someone pick up their luggage from the airport conveyer belt can get you a long term sentence in the Thai jail system.

On the night of my going away party, I received an email from this same guy regarding the flood increasing in Thailand and how cities were being evacuated, including Bangkok (which is where my training is supposed to occur for the first 2-3 weeks). I was at a somewhat drunken state, so I started showing everyone this email on my phone. I was playfully joking that I won’t be able to go to Thailand anymore and that this going away party was a sham and a way to get people to hang out with me.

I was a bit nervous about this email so I contacted my ATI program director about the flood concerns the next day. She explained to me that the teacher training in Bangkok was still starting on November 7th and the floods have not affected the training center and schools. My parents were concerned since my information guy was forwarding all his emails to them as well. So I thought I calmed their nerves a bit by letting them know some basic information about the flood. I guess it wasn’t enough.

One day, I received an email from the ATI program director responding to several emails my mother sent without my knowledge. They were emails concerned for my safety and asking for the importance of my visit. One question my mother asked was: “Do you even need English teachers over there?” I was livid. This trip was my own. I’ve been planning and funding it myself from the beginning. And I am old enough and responsible enough to manage on my own, without my parents holding my hand every step of the way. I knew my parents haven’t supported me from the start so I knew that this was just a way to try to get me out of the Thailand trip. I told my mom that I didn’t want her contacting my director anymore. She reluctantly agreed.

That same day, I received an email from the director telling me that I was placed on another training schedule starting on November 28^th because of these concerns. Again, I was furious! The director must have thought that my parents’ wishes were the same as mine and made a decision based on my mom’s concerns. I can’t wait three weeks to start training. I just bought a very expensive, non-refundable ticket to Bangkok. This would mean that I would have to purchase another expensive ticket or that I would have to sit in Bangkok (possibly in flood water) without the accommodations I was originally guaranteed. We are only given accommodations and food when in training and during our teaching contract. When doing neither, I would have to pay for a hotel and food for three weeks (it’s cheaper than most places but it adds up). I also would lose almost a month of teaching experience and salary. This was definitely not what I wanted. And from my knowledge, the training center was not affected by the flood.

I wanted to know if this November 28^th start date was given to the other teachers that were training with me. So I emailed the director and asked her this specific question, among many other questions regarding the flood. After a couple days, she responded by repeating what she stated in her last email and vaguely describing the flood situation. She didn’t answer most of my questions though and I still don’t know if others were given this same start date. I don’t want to be training by myself. Despite my whole independence surge, I was still hoping to make friends. I emailed her again. This time, I asked her the same question four different times within the email “Was this start date given to other teachers?” I also asked her to ignore any of my parents’ past or future emails since this wasn’t their trip. She didn’t respond to my email for another couple of days and when she did, again, she didn’t answer my question.

I was so mad at my parents. I couldn’t believe that they did this to me so I ignored their calls for days. They bothered my director, causing her to take me off the original start date. I was also upset with the director for taking directions from my parents when I was the one participating in the teaching program. She didn’t even get my consent before making a decision. After emailing her, once again, she responded by saying that I can choose the November 7^th start date again once they review the situation on the November 2^nd, still not answering my original and reoccurring question. Note: My only way of communicating with the director is through email or gchat. She is located in Thailand and doesn’t have a phone number on record. Also, I think there is a tremendous language barrier. She couldn’t seem to understand my questions and I could not understand a great amount of her responses.

After another day or so, I finally found the director on gchat. I immediately asked her the same question: “Was the November 28^th start date given to other teachers?” Finally, she responded by letting me know that other teachers were given this state date. A sense of relief overcame me. Other teachers were in the same unfortunate position as I was. Oh man! I felt so bad for ragging on my parents this whole time. It wasn’t my parents fault. I still don’t think they should’ve gone behind my back and contacted the director but this change wasn’t their doing.

What’s even worse about this whole situation is I haven’t even showed any concern for those who were and are still affected by the flood in Thailand. I was more concerned about my arrival date and salary. And during my superficial worries, others are losing their homes and some their lives. Hopefully, I’ll be doing some good out there soon enough.

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Here is some background knowledge of the flood:

They consider this flood to be the worst in Thailand in the last several years. The flood originated from the overflowing of several rivers in Thailand. The flood began at the end of July; during the start of Thailand’s monsoon season (rainy season is usually around August to October). The Thai government did not expect the flood to grow or even get as bad as it turned out. Most of the dams and canals have overflowed and they do not expect the flood barriers to hold out any longer.

Almost 500 people have died so far. Thousands have encountered severe damage to their homes and have even lost their homes. The important industrial estates in Thailand, including tech industries, have taken a hit as most of their centers have been inundated. The flood has affected most of Central Thailand but has even reached down to lower provinces such as Bangkok. Twenty percent of Bangkok is now underwater. Some believe that Bangkok is a falling city. This city, mainly built upon swampland, is said to be underwater within the next hundred years due to the effects of global warming.

Since the water has receded (slightly) and have fallen almost knee-deep, people have begun to clean up. There has been too much damage already. Homes and belongings have been destroyed and will have long-term consequences. Water-borne diseases have been more prevalent as well. The damage is said to be around 160 billion baht (5 million USD). Even with financial and volunteer support, it is said to be a long while before Thailand get back to its original state.

Pictures:

People are stocking up on food and supplies at the SiMumMuang market in Rangsit.

Woman paddling by a school in the Bang Kruai district. She is using a cement mixing tub as a boat.

Garbage floating on a road in Pathum Thani. Imagine the bacteria and disease. Yuck!

This one I just thought was funny! This looks really uncomfortable.

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The next email from the director stated that they’ve decided that all teachers were going to start on the November 28^th date instead of the 7^th because of flood concerns, so we had to make plans accordingly. After apologizing to my parents for my frantic and dramatic behavior, I tried to figure out my next step. What am I going to do for 3 weeks? I just quit my job (Oh yea!), I’ve already mentally prepared for this trip, my bags are almost packed, and I have a plane that will be leaving on the 5^th to arrive in Bangkok on the 6^th. I could stay in town for a couple of weeks and hang out with my friends? I could stay up north (my hometown) with my parents? No, I wouldn’t be able to work and make money, I wouldn’t really have too much to do, and all the excitement I’ve generated for this trip will soon fade.

I started thinking that maybe I could travel during the three weeks. Instead of waiting here in town, with my parents, or in Bangkok with the flood, I could instead travel around Asia. I do have a 10 country minimum goal for this trip. So two days before I leave the country, I am now making plans to visit Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan before I land in Bangkok on the 28^th.

My first stop will be Japan. I will travel there for 7 days and I might join a tour, if still possible at this time. Next, I will travel to South Korea and meet up with my friend, Seung. Don’t know what type of accommodations I’ll have but I will search for some when I’m there. Seung also knows Seoul pretty well and he said he’ll take me around the city. After I will be in China to visit Beijing, Shanghai, and the Terra Cotta soldiers! I hopefully will be able to sneak into Mongolia for a quick visit. And lastly, I will visit Taiwan. I have family in Taiwan but this trip isn’t for me to be comfortable. So I won’t be staying with them. I am determined to find my own place for a couple of days, visit my family (maybe hand off some of my luggage), and hang out with my friend Connie (who is also teaching oversees).

I heard Japan and Korea is pretty cold at this time of year. Now I have to pack for both winter and summer. That’s a lot more clothes than I expected. Arg! I was so excited to skip winter.

We’ll see if spontaneity really works with me. Let’s see what happens!

Give Me A Break!

October 20, 2011

This last month has been very hectic. I’ve had stressful moments in the past, but at least they were spread out over time. Within a month, I’ve encountered several situations that have disrupted my peace.

#1: A Break Up

After a year and a half of wild adventures, sneaking around our co-workers, and spontaneity (a concept very new to me), my boyfriend and I broke up. We actually met at my restaurant. Honestly, he was the last person I thought I would be with. He's impulsive, adventurous, and rarely says no to any opportunity. These are all great characteristics but they were ones I’m not used to. I usually think things through before indulging in any activity (as you can tell by my preparation for this trip). I do love adventure but I usually don’t seek the day to day, heart racing, ‘you only live once’ kind of thrill. I prefer traveling adventures. Surprisingly, he helped me get through my teaching program. Actually, I don’t know if I would have done so well or even stayed sane throughout it if it weren’t for him. He helped bring fun into my life as I was rigorously planning lessons, waking up at 5 every morning, and acquiring different strains of influenza from my students every other week.

But our many differences are what got the best of us. He was also moving to LA at the time (and I really don’t like LA). It was a tough break up. Unfortunately, when I get stressed or sad, I lose my appetite. And I have a rather large appetite. Many people at work consider me to be a garbage disposal for their leftover food (the employees’ leftovers not the customers’). With the break up and the stress of preparing for the trip, I wasn’t eating very well and I ended up losing weight off my already skin and bones. But after weeks of healing and improved eating habits, we are now on our own separate adventure and moving on with our lives. He is living the life as a New Yorker and progressing rapidly in his career. I’m taking a break from my life in the U.S. and traveling throughout Southeast Asia.

#2: Broken Back

I’ve played volleyball for about 13 years or so. It swallowed up most of my academic and social life when I was young and it still serves as a big part of my life now. It’s the only sport that I am actually good at and the only sport I feel comfortable enough to let people watch (sex does not count). Since being out of college, I joined a co-ed indoor volleyball adult league. It has less competitive play and less structure (no practices, no real warm up) than I’m used to but it is fun. The team is probably the most positive and friendly team I’ve encountered, making the experience much more enjoyable. We play every Wednesday night and do relatively well. It also depends if our good luck charm (Lacey or Lara) or our bad luck charm (Ricky) is there and what combination of the three is there at the same time—essentially Lacey and Lara can neutralize Ricky’s bad juju. Still appreciate your support, Ricky!

This team has gotten me into beach volleyball as well. I started playing beach for the first time this summer with my teammates, Guillermo and Lauren. They are both amazing players and they taught me everything I needed to know about beach. When Guillermo and I play doubles, he usually won’t let me be partners with anyone else, except for Lauren. I feel so loved!

Recently, Lauren asked me to play in a CBVA (California Beach Volleyball Association) tournament with her. We ended up doing very well in the tournament and surprisingly, I received my A ranking in beach volleyball. I was so excited! This ranking lasts for the rest of the current season and it will help me get placed in tournaments and be accepted into more competitive beach tournaments. But this high did not last for too long.

A couple days later, I was playing a double header with my indoor team. I went for a ball that was too far out of my reach. As the setter on my team, I ran towards the ball, threw my pelvis forward to try to set it backwards but the rest of my body stayed far behind. This may not make sense for those who do not play volleyball (or even for those who do play volleyball), but I essentially bent my back too far back. I fell on the ground and couldn’t get up. I had to drag myself off the court and ended up needing a lot of help out of the gym after the game finished.

I’ve had back problems in the past but it was never this bad. I’ve never felt this pain before. I had radiating pain down to my ankles and could not use my legs effectively. I could not straighten my back and I was walking as a right angle for the next couple of days. My super considerate friends pretended to walk like an old lady around me and even went as far as fixing their hands around an imaginary cane and folding their lips in over the teeth as if they didn’t have teeth. Classy, guys! In addition, they told other people about my old lady stature and so those few motioned the old lady walk immediately upon seeing me. Because of my inability to walk, I had to give a couple of my serving shifts away.

I thought that if I waited a while, the pain would just go away. But it just got worse. Especially since I was spending a lot on this trip, I really could not afford to go to the doctor’s, let alone get X-rays and an MRI (which have been recommended to me several times in the past). I was afraid that I would have to get surgery to fix my back. Definitely one thing I would not be able to afford. Instead, I tried my own at-home remedies such as stretching, not moving for long periods of time, sleeping with 5 pillows under my legs, and taking friends’ expired vicadin. Surprisingly, the vicadin did not work for the pain. Rather, it just made me jittery and loopy and I used it once at work to try to get through a 6 hours shift. Finally, I called my doctor and explained my situation. They wanted me to come in for a comprehensive exam and physical therapy treatment. But I didn’t have the time or money. Since I sounded so desperate for some type of momentary relief and the doctors knew that I didn’t have any previous issues with drug abuse (muah haha…so they thought!), they gave me a couple of shots to appease my pain off the record. The shots helped for the day, but it ended up coming right back.

The pain was getting to be so much and it was affecting me at work so I finally decided to get an MRI to find out what was really going on with my back. When filling out my application at an orthopedic doctor’s office, the receptionist asked for my driver’s license. As she scanned it carefully, she asked,” For billing purposes, is the address on your license your current address?” The address on my driver’s license was actually my parent’s home address. In pathetic desperation, I lied and maliciously said yes. I ended up having so much guilt about it, I ended up telling my mother about it.

Before setting up my MRI appointment, the doctor prescribed me some anti-inflammatory medicine and muscle relaxers. The combination of medication really helped with the pain and finally helped me sleep normally. A couple days later, I had my MRI appointment, at 7 in the morning! I figured I would be able to sleep during the scan since I would be lying down in the MRI machine for a long period of time. I even mentioned taking a nap to the doctor who helped me get into the machine. But he did not care to tell me that being in a MRI machine is like being in a constricting aluminum tube with someone banging on each side of the exterior with a metal rod every couple of seconds. After an agonizing 30 minutes of this orchestra of sounds, I finally got my results. It wasn’t good.

When looking at my scan, all my discs look white and healthy except for my L5 disc (the last disc in the spine). It was almost black in the scan and was considered dehydrated according to the doctor. Since there isn’t too much blood flow that goes through discs, once the disc is damaged, it becomes difficult for it to create healthy cells again. Upon seeing my scans, the doctor told me that I have a herniated disc (one that he recognized as an older injury) and a tear in the same disc (the injury from my volleyball game). He told me that the tear will heal (and will heal more properly with proper physical therapy and rest) but the herniation cannot be fixed. But as long as the herniation does not grow and compress my spinal cord enough to make me lose my bowels, I would not need surgery. In addition, he told me that I have a 10 week period of time to let it heal properly and I was required to rest for the duration of 5 months or more.

I am pretty sad because I cannot finish up the season with my indoor league and beach volleyball team. Furthermore, I won’t be able to use my new beach ranking anymore this season because of the injury. I guess it can seem like good timing since I won’t be playing too much volleyball while teaching in Thailand.

#3: Broken Computer

My computer died again! I have had my MacBook for 5 years and each year since the beginning, it has crashed and erased my entire hard drive. Five times! It has erased pictures, music, and important documents. Once, the day before my application for a university was due, my computer crashed and erased my application essay. I had to write the essay all over again within a 24 hour period. Last year, the computer’s power adapter died and after I went to the Apple store to replace it, I came back home and my computer battery died. I had to go back that same day to get another replacement. I haven’t had the best luck with this computer. But I have been more careful to back up my computer every month or so.

After finishing my teaching program, I backed up my computer. Good thing, since there were a lot of lessons and teaching material that I worked hard on during the last year. After the last back up, I created a lot of documents for my prospective teaching in Thailand. I downloaded multiple training materials from my program and constructed several lesson plans and projects that I needed for my training and teaching. I also created a Ruby instruction manual, so my parents would know how to take care of my dog for the next 7 months. Lastly, I wrote three blog posts in a separate Word document, those of which were almost completed. These were all erased, including the post that I am rewriting right now. I was pretty upset. I went over to the Apple store in hopes that they would be able to restore the contents of my computer.

When I got there, all the employees looked devastated. One employee kept on stating, “Oh man!” and “Oh my god!” in a very abrupt and abrasive tone. I finally asked one employee what was wrong. He informed me that their founder, Steve Jobs, just died of pancreatic cancer. I was sad about his death of course but then I made a bizarre connection. I was I’m probably making too light of the situation, but isn’t it odd that my Apple computer died the same day that Steve Jobs died? What if all Apple products just stopped working when their founder died? What a strange thought!

After finally getting help on my computer, I explained my whole debacle with my Apple computer. The employee was not interested in my story and told me that he is going to charge me 300 dollars to fix what might be wrong. I asked if he can recover any of my hard drive and he coldly told me that it would not be possible. I asked if he knows what might have happened and he again, without emotion, told me that he doesn’t know. I know that Steve Jobs just died but jeeze, he was rude! It didn’t even seem like he tried. I was pretty upset about the situation so I called my dad, who was even more upset. He told me to start causing a scene in the store and yell out, “Macs are inefficient. I’m going to get a Dell instead!” I thought this wouldn’t have done me any good so I took a seemingly more rational approach. I tried to reason with the guy and said:

"So if I were to spend 300 dollars today to fix my computer, there is a possibility it will break down a couple months down the line, right? There is a possibility that the 300 dollars I spend won’t actually do any good for my computer? Well, here is the thing. I need a computer. I need a working computer that can at least last the next couple months without breaking down. From what you are saying, it doesn’t seem like this computer will last. But I can’t afford another Mac since they tend to cost around 2,000 dollars. So what I can actually do is take the 300 dollars used to fix this time bomb of a machine and instead buy a PC computer for the same amount."

He answered yes to all my questions. So I calmly responded, “Thanks, that’s all I needed to know.”

I left the store, went to the car, and cried for a bit. I needed to bring a computer to Thailand for both training and teaching. Now I don’t have a working computer and I would have to buy another computer. Again, a computer is something I couldn’t afford at this time. With some research and help from a few people, I found a relatively cheap PC. I can’t believe I switched over. My family (especially my dad) is a huge advocate for Apple products and has been loyal customers since Apple first started. Because of this incident, I think we may be switching over to PC’s now.

#4: Being Broke

Business at my restaurant has been the slowest it has ever been since I’ve been working here. This is mainly due to the remodeling of our parking lot. The fall months are usually pretty slow already but without much of a parking lot, prospective customers are deterred from coming in. This construction process is supposed to take 20 weeks but it feels like it has been much longer. These 20 weeks basically have ruined my chances of making extra money for my trip before leaving this job.

As employees, we get a separate parking lot farther from the rest of the shops. So luckily, construction has not affected our parking situation. But it has affected people’s attitudes towards us. Tips have become progressively worse. People don’t want to tip as much when they are unhappy. I’ll admit, it could be my poor service but I don’t think I’m that bad at my job. Even if people do come in, they come in very frustrated and angry. We, servers don’t even stand a chance!

Customers complain about the parking all the time now. I am usually sympathetic and I complain with them. Sometimes, customers blame me (the server) for creating a hostile dining experience. I understand the frustration though. I once tried parking in this same lot to visit another store and it took me almost 40 minutes to find parking. I almost got into two accidents while searching for a spot as well. I ended up parking in a loading only spot and had to rush out of there in fear of getting towed. No wonder no one wants to come in anymore.

Many of my co-workers have been forced to get a second job. Many servers can only get one or two shifts a week. We used to make around 80-150 dollars in tips a night. Now, most servers are making 20-40 dollars a shift. My saving has gradually depleted since planning my trip and since the construction has started. I guess it’s been okay though. With work being so slow, we have actually been getting better reviews from the few customers that do come in happy.  With less to do during work, we also have been able to take more breaks, eat feasts as we work, play games, and have deep, meaningful conversations with each other. I am fairly happy that I’ve been able to hang out and get to know my co-workers during these leisurely times, especially while getting paid hourly.

Overall, this was a pretty straining time for me. All these situations plus the energy used to plan this trip caused me so much stress this month that I missed my period entirely. I know, too much information. But telling you about my menstrual cycle is the necessary way to demonstrate the severity of my stress. I have never missed my period before. So of course, I worried. And because I worried, it most likely delayed it even more. But good news! I’m not pregnant or going through menopause or have some other bodily dysfunction! I ended up getting my period the next month. Getting my period was the best thing to happen to me this week, which is usually not the case for most girls. That's how bad this month has been!

I also ended up getting pretty sick which caused me to both deepen and lose most of my voice. Oddly enough, this served as a benefit for my specific Halloween costume. I usually don’t like getting dressed up for any event but Lacey told me that if I did anything for Halloween, it should be something to celebrate Thailand. She asked me,” What is popular or well-known in Thailand?” My eyes brighten up as I thought of the most spectacular costume idea: a Thai lady boy! Since preparing for Thailand, I have learned so much about the ladyboy or katoey—Thailand’s third gender. Ladyboys are men who believe that they were supposed to be born as a woman or just have a strong desire to be a woman. Some are in transition and some have already completed their gender reassignment. This transformation includes long hair, makeup, feminine clothing, changing their names to female names, and mainly changing their genitalia. They are very beautiful and many times their beauty and poise can outshine actual women. They are so stunning that there are even famous world competitions for these ladyboys. Boys, beware when going to Thailand. I heard it’s very hard to decipher.

They look like beautiful women, don't they? I'm trying to keep this blog somewhat classy, so I decided to not use my own ladyboy picture.

I have been in awe of this subculture and have demonstrated to others of my interest in meeting them at some point. So for Halloween, I am going to embody a ladyboy both in body and in spirit (as best as I can). I knew that my costume would possibly require some type of short and tight skirt, a corset, heels, and drag make-up—penciled in eyebrows, fake lashes, and lots and lots of blush and lip. But the most important part of the costume and what makes a ladyboy, a boy, is the male genitalia (which I do not have yet). To produce a more authentic ladyboy image, I thought about a couple of options like stuffing myself with a sock and possible reconstructive surgery. Then I decided that instead I was going to purchase a strap-on for the event (a bit cheaper than surgery). Oh yes, a strap-on. For those who don’t understand, a strap-on is a sex toy that people use to add some extra flavor in their sex lives (or to have a sex life). It usually consists of a dildo (color and size of your choice) and straps that wrap around your waist and upper thighs. The straps securely hold up the dildo in order for it to be in a somewhat erect position for your partner’s pleasure. With a tight skirt, my bulge will be easily detected. Though I was hesitant to buy the strap-on since I had no real use for it, it does serve as a good novelty item. I can scare off prospective boys and weed out the weak ones. This will prove as a true testament of their appeal to me.

 After all said and done, my trip is still approaching and I'm excited for more stressful and memorable moments to come.

Man! What a month!