Big Moving Party

Today was a big moving day. Moving is always stressful. But I was lucky to have several people to help me. So today began like this ...

MT came to pick me up with her truck. I had made a reservation of a U-Haul truck to move with a couple of friends of mine, but MT offered me her help and suggested me to cancel the reservation, and I did. So, MT and I picked up YY first to help us carry heavy things, and drove to SC's office. SC gave me his desk which is huge and heavy. Then, we went to SR's house to collect some stuff. Because SR kept bigger things in a U-Haul storage, we drove there. MT, YY and I were in MT's truck, and SR and her son J were in SR's Volvo. In SR's storage, there were tons of stuff. SR kindly gave me a lot of stuff--a queen size bed, dining table, coffee table, table lamp, chest, three chairs, and so on. It is not too much to say that my room and living room are decorated by SR's furniture.

Though we had stressful moments to pack those stuff in MT's truck, finally, we loaded them and came to my apartment complex. Because MT is a busy person, as soon as we unloaded my stuff in front of my apartment, she left. YY was also busy and rushed to school. SR and J also went home. And I was left with my stuff.

I appreciate everyone, MT, YY, SR and J, for their help, kindness and generosity. I'm so lucky to have them.

Housing Office Sucks

Leaving my stuff in front of my apartment, I went to the office to check in. And I called my roommate, IN, to come over to check in.

I was surprised at what the person in the office told me.

"Hi, we came here to check in #AB."
"Are you blah blah blah?"
"No, I'm Minami the Duck."
"Then, you are moving in #CD."

#CD is a third floor unit (without the elevator). The housing office offered me this unit once in August, saying that I could move in as early as Sept. 2. But it was on the third floor without the elevator, I rejected their offer. Then, they put me in #AB, which I needed to wait until today to move in. So, I got angry!

"Man! It's ridiculous! If I move in #CD, I didn't need to wait until today. I waited until today because the housing office told me that I would move in #AB. I have an agreement with the housing office that I will move in #AB. I can show you emails from the housing office for my evidence."
"But someone already moved in #AB. This term, this complex is full. So, there's no choice."
"Why don't you call the housing office!"

She called the housing office, talked on the phone for a while, and hung up. After a while, maybe 10 or 15 minutes, the housing office called her back. After hanging up the phone, she said, "#EF is available, which is on the second floor. Are you gonna take this?" I had no choice other than taking this.

IN and I wen to check out our apartment. It turned out nicer than #AB becaues it doesn't face to the street as #AB does. But the problem was my stuff. I left my stuff in front of #AB. #AB and #EF are far opposite sides of the complex. MT left already, and that meant we didn't have a truck to transport my heavy stuff across the complex.

But again, I'm so lucky to have great friends. Even though IN was not going to move in today, she spared her time to move my stuff. Also Z and her husband who are living in the complex helped me to move. How many times did we walk up and down between two apartments with heavy stuff? I don't have any words to express my gratitude to IN, Z and her husband.

After putting things in, my apartment turned to be a mess. I gave up sleeping there tonight, I came back to DS's cozy house. I'm gonna miss DS and her family badly.

Beauty is Fragile

I knew it! I knew my nails would break soon. But I didn't know that water from the tap would break my thumbnail. Was the water pressure too strong? Or my nail was too weak.

Festival 1

Man, where did those happi coats come from? Mind you, it's not in Japan but in the hippie town, somewhere in the States.

My host kids paraded in the town festival this morning, donned happi. They were cute in happi.

As a friend of them, I joined the parade with their mother and other parents. It was chilly, but it was fun. Given that it is a rare opportunity to walk in the middle of the streets, not on the sidewalk, in downtown, you need to enjoy that. So, I did.

This town is small. That's what I believe. To my surprise, there were tons of audiences along the streets even though it was kind of early in the morning ... and cold. Well, basically, American people are not so sensitive to coldness. Anyhow, it was fun (and a little bit embarrassing) to walk, surrounded by cheering audiences.

Festival 2

I joined DS and her family to go to Oktoberfest. Yea, Munich, Germany! Nope, it is in this state, 2 hours north from the hippie town. Anyhow, the town which Oktoberfest is going on is historically a town of Germans. That's why they have this German festival in the States.

Yes, we joined two festivals in different places in a row, in a day. What a busy day!

According to my meager imagination, Oktoberfest looks like a beer festival with big belly guys holding a huge beer mug in one hand and a huge sausage in the other and maybe singing songs. But, it was not the case in this Oktoberfest. It was more like a food festival. There were a variety of food stands which of course served German kind of food and snacks. I tried a sausage. Yes, it was huge and tasty.

In the kids area, there were magic shows and juggling shows in the tent. I was not interested, but I wanted to be in the shade. So, I went inside and had a seat with adult members of DS family. Her kids were playing under the sun. I found this guy, a juggling performer, is interesting. His juggling technique may not be super, but his talk was hilarious. It was fun to say ohs and ahs and laugh, avoiding the sun.

Fetishist?

No, I don't think so. I'm not a hand person. To the contrary, I kind of don't like my hands because they are ... bony. But the reason why I took a photo of my hand is my nails. They are long and in good shape. I need to have a manicure. Anyway, my nails are too weak to grow. They are easy to break. So, it's almost a miracle to grow my nails. I know they are going to break any time soon :(

Duck the Freeloader

I'm really lucky. I know that and I appreciate that. I'm blessed to have someone who is willing to let me stay until the 19th, until the university housing office lets me move in.

DS and her kids kindly came to pick me up at the airport and took me to their house. Her kids, a second-grader and a fourth-grader, are cute. And they are learning Japanese. That's good. They gave up their upstairs playroom for me.

I found that DS is a very frank (and kind, not to mention) person. To be honest, when I first saw her, I thought she didn't like me. So, I was kind of surprised at that she offered me accommodation. I'm glad that she and her family are open and accept me.

Man, I'm so lucky.