Yoko ... date #1 and a half!

So just got back from town and on a whim i emailed Yoko after the movie we saw for my class (yep movie for class , best idea ever no teaching involved my students can just absorb english and then tomorrow we can discuss it!) AND she had a bit of free time between work and her tea ceremony class. So we went and got some coffee! I was very happy to see her. She has the best smile ever and (this is for you Leah) she has dimples! In my previous blog I posted a picture of Yoriko (red) and Yoko (pink), you can kind of see them in the picture. Anyway we talked a bunch and then I walked her over to her tea ceremony class. Along the way we ended up holding hands, which is a step in the right direction if I want to date her (you might call this Japanese first base ... perhaps. Never was really sure of what was what on the bases). In Japan kissing basically means sex is ok (again information from my neighbor). which I was unware of. So moving on we walked over to her school and chatted along the way. Again I had the urge to kiss her, but after finding out about the meanings of that in Japan I held myself back. I have to say it was hard especially since she intiated the hug today, which I would take to me she REALLY likes me. But, taking it slow just incase. So thats the new news from Japan. Happy Holiday's to everyone, hope Christmas was fun and have an awsome New Years (I may blog before then, but not sure)

Yoko ... date #1

Ok as promissed here is the story of the last week or so and an insight into Steve's current love life. First off Rina got sick last week (or at least that is her claim) and as such we didn't go on our second date on Sunday. The vibe I got from her wasn't all that great so she is out of the picture.
On Saturday I went on my first one on one outing with Yoriko. We just got coffee after she got off work, but it was nice to spend some time with her and who know where things will go with her. Her uncle is dying which is sad, but she doesn't seem all that broken up about it. However I'm not sure if our "date" on Sunday (New Years Eve) will happen or not. Right now she is in Tokyo visiting her father with her mother and won't be back till the 30th.
However that is not the reason for this blog. As most of you who have been reading my blog should be aware last night was my first date with Yoko, the High School music teacher, who I met a few weeks back. She was quite lovely as I remembered her being and has the best smile ... so from these first few lines should be getting the picture that I like her. Anyway, we went to dinner and got curry and nan at a nice little restraunt on the Miukidori (kind an outdoor shopping mall, road, thing ...) We chatted and I finally got to know her age, get ready to laugh ..., 32! I know go ahead and stare at the guy who has the hots for an older woman. She seemed to think I'd run away after finding that out, but I didn't even miss a step. If you remember a much earlier blog I speculated she must be around that age. So after that we walked over to an Irish style pub that a couple of my neighbors were playing a gig at. So we listened to them and we talked for over three hours :). It was exactly what a date should be. We each had one drink (just for the atmosphere) and I discovered she is a big fan of Bailey's and milk! After that I walked her to the train station (she still lives with her folks ... a very Japanese thing to do i guess with unattached young people in Japan) and we sorta hugged. I gave her a peck on the cheek just before she left ... perhaps not the best thing since PDA really doesn't happen in Japan, but I couldn't help it and I would much rather have kissed her full on (but I thought that would be TOO forward of me). So afterward I met up with my neighbors and i got an email from her. One of my neighbors "interpreted" its meaning. It was in English, but I didn't know how to read between the lines. Apparently she REALLY digs me and I have to say I dig her too :). We have another date on New Years day! A lunch date. She is very busy until then :(.
So after my date the usual hijinx ensued. When ever I go out with my neighbors usually we drink a bit too much. BUT, I was safe and didn't drink too much (for once). Japan is a bad influence in that way, but I think now that I'm on my healthy gig again I will hopefully show more restraint. Thats all for now, off to teach a class.

Little bit of Holiday Humor

Hope you guys enjoy this. I know I did :).



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Short one

So I'm gonna write a shorty for you people who care to check my blog often. Today I taught my last two classes with some of my ichi nensei. I was sad to have it come to an end but we had a good time making Christmas cards. Tomorrow is a very boring day no classes at all i think. Then Thursday I teach my last two classes at Shikama Higashi.
Other than that my week so far has been uneventful. I hardly feels like less than a week to Christmas! About the only thing that feels like Christmas is the weather is MECHA SAMUI! (which in layman's terms means really fucking cold) I have my little tree all decorated with two ornements and all the presents arranges around it. Since i can stack them taller than the tree it makes me feel loved (though the tree is like 6 inches tall soo ...)
Anyway time for bed. 5:30 am rolls around really smeggin early (that one was for all you Red Dwarf fans). So far I think I've lost about 3 kilos from when I started and you guessed it people can see it in my face ("look at the head on...!") I am eating lots of salad, steamed vegitables and I'm juicing ... i'm only half kidding here. But it actually is pretty good. Mostly it's just a lot fresh foods, today we had hummus for lunch along with some mushroom and tofu stir fry, rice and salad with avacados, carrots and cherry tomatoes. The guy who has been doing a lot of the cooking is getting a bit tired of it though so I'm gonna have to start cooking more for myself again ... hopefully I can find a cheap blender cause I like that hummus XD. Most of the other stuff I think i can make pretty easily like curry with pumpkin, egg plant, mushrooms and carrots. Yeah for all you people reading this and scratching your heads, I just listed a bunch of vegies in this paragraph that back home i wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole. You can teach an old dog new tricks. I honestly don't like many of these vegies, but I think when cooked in curries and eaten with other foods such as humus its not too bad and I know it's helping me loose the flab a bit.
So there is today's update. For those of you who want more about my love life I think I'll probably write another story for you next Wednesday after I have gone on my first date with Yoko and after my possible second date with Rina and with news of Yoriko if I get to see her at all this weekend. Until then またね！

Current Events

So it's been a week since my last post so here is the update on Steve's life. Tomorrow marks the begining of the end at Shikama Higashi JHS. This coming Friday is my last day there so I am a bit sad about that. I plan to try and visit at some point if possible. Next year I start at Otsua much larger school, which I have no notion if I'll like or not.
Last week I taught my last class for ninensei and sannensei (8th and 9th graders for those of you who don't know how the count goes in JHS in Japan) I felt a bit like a movie star in a few of my classes because several students wanted my autograph at the end of the lesson (*^.^*)!
So this last weekend I had a farwell Enkai with a couple of my teachers at a Sake making plant. It is a very small .... brewer? ... and all the rice they use is locally grown. Anyway the food was delicious and one of my teachers was kind enough to call ahead and have them make all the dishes everyone else was eats except minus the meat. So there was a salad that would normally have bacon on it, no bacon for me. Also there was a weird kinda vegitable ball that normally had eel in it but they just left that out for mine. Afterward they were doing a little drawing cause the year is ending and thats what they do I guess. Anyway one of the tickets we got won second prize! So now I have a huge bottle of Sake at my apartment. I'm thinking if things work out well with one of the women I'm dating I'll open it up some evening for dinner or something.
Speaking of dates! Last Friday I had my first date with Rina. She was as beautiful as I recall and pretty nice. But! About halfway through dinner her boss called and she had to go back into work >.< ! So that was a bummer cause we were going to watch a movie after dinner. However, I was able to set up a second date during the first for Christmas Eve to go see that movie ... thats the good news. The bad news ... perhaps ... is last night (after the party with my teachers incase you weren't paying attention ... looks at my father >.>) a couple of us went to a japanese version of a mixer. Rina went with us and all that. But, I'm terrible at making small talk AND a guy that aparently Rina likes was there too. Soo who knows where that whole mess stands. As far as I know we are still on for next Sunday, but I'm not holding my breath for a third date. As a side note for those curious Rina did not bring a friend.
As for Yoriko (not Yonko .... if anyone sends me another e-mail with that name I will stop speaking to that person or e-mailing or in anyway communicating with that person for a month! >.>) I stopped by her work today and gave her a little gift I picked up in Kyoto a few weeks back. She seemed happy to see me and sent me a nice e-mail atfer saying thank you for stopping in. As for another date with her ... I tried to get her to come to dinner with me after work tonight, but she had to go home. So I'm thinking I may try and get something going next Friday afternoon. I already have a thumbs up for either the 30th or 31st (leaning toward 31st) to do something with her which i'm stoked about. Originally it was to be the 28th but she is going to spend sometime with her father and mother in Tokyo the 27th-29th (her dad is a bachlor worker up there ... which means he works there and sends money home, but doesn't get to come home to be with his family). So I being the supportive person that I am was happy she is going to be able to see her father.
As for Yoko first date is still on the 26th of December. I've been e-mailing with her and she seems to be excited to go out with me then. I am as well because I would like to see if there are any sparks there. No dates on the 25th; Rina works, Yoriko works and then has a work party and I was told not to take Yoko out on our first date on that day.
So these blogs seem to center around my love life, but as it stands that is about the most news worthy/ interesting thing in my life in Japan at the moment.

Today!

So today I had a date with a very beautiful and charming woman that I met through networking. Her name is Yoriko and she is studying English in Kobe, but she wants to be an accupuncturist. Yeah not exactly the same field ... lol. Anyway apparently English is her hobby. So we went to a Turkish food restraunt near Himeji Castle. I treated her and her friend to lunch and then we headed back to Forus (a mall/ department store place). After that we went to a movie. We saw Casino Royal. It was pretty good, but a bit long and about halfway through I had to piss really really bad. So yeah the second half I was in pain waiting for the movie to end so I could go use the toilet.
Anyway I think it was a good time and when I e-mailed her later she said she had a good time and was up for the idea of doing something else in the next few weeks. Many of you are wondering the comment earlier probably with the friend. Apparently in Japan "dating" doesn't really happen one on one. They go on "group dates" which means there can be more than one couple or one couple and a friend or two or large numbers of people perhaps two couples and a bunch of singles ... etc. Anyway once you pass that gauntlet and are boyfriend and girlfriend (or b and b or g and g, if that is how you are wired) then you can do "dating" as we would call it back in the states. So who knows how this will turn out, but I have hopes ...
BUT! As many of you have counciled me I am "playing the field" I have another date coming up this coming Friday. This time with a friend of one of my neighbors. Her name is Rina and I honestly don't know what she does, her age (my guess is around 21) or any of that. My neighbor while we were out last Friday was like, "she is single you should as her out" and through the modern medicine liquid courage I did just that right afterward. I KNOW! That must really blow you all away Steve actually asking someone out face to face spur of the moment. This is the new Japanese Evil Steve (we'll come back to evil in a bit). So we have a movie date coming up this coming Friday. I am debating if I should mention the bringing a friend thing or not, she probably will anyway ...
Anyway, on to the Evil Steve. So as if having two dates in a week's span with different women wasn't enough to show my conversion I will add to the state of evilness. I met another woman last night while at an aquaintance's party in Kobe. She is a music teacher at a high school in Himeji. She was really nice and we hit it off (doesn't hurt she is pretty too >.>) So I got her phone number and her e-mail and we have already traded a few e-mails. I haven't asked her out yet, but I have a feeling she would be up for it. I'm not sure how old she is, she wouldn't tell me how long she has been a teacher. But, based of piecing together various bits of information I got talking with her last night my guess is around 30. I know not only is Evil Steve "playing the field" but he's also going after the older women too! You might ask why do you say she is that old. Well here is one clue that I will tell you. She said she has been practicing the piano for 25 years AND that she practiced when she was a child. So she had to have done it before she left elementary school. Now that still leads it up to possible 37 (12 is still elementary), but and I know I'm not a good judge of age of Japanese women but I don't think she is quite that old and so my guess of around 30.
So there it is my oh so busy (and getting busier) love life.