I have been suffering from a spate of bad luck recently, as you would know if my laptop had survived long enough for me to transfer the last two weeks' worth of blog posts from it onto here. But alas, the shit has finally hit the fan--literally. It no longer makes that really loud whirring noise when I start it up; now it just beeps and says "Fan Error." The good news - I transferred all my music to my external hard drive beforehand! The bad news - I lost two stories I was working on and all those blog posts, including all the ones detailing my recent bad luck (possibly incurred from all my whistling at night--Japanese superstition). I'm hesitant to call it bad luck at all though - that's right, Mr. Pessimism is looking on the bright side of things! Maybe it's the painkillers, but all things considered, I do feel pretty well. But let me recap just for recap's sake.
Bad luck started last Saturday, when I got called into work because all the American teachers are getting swine flu (except me!) That's both good and bad though, as I did have to go to work. But it was pretty ok.
Sunday I bought curtains that were too big for the door and a microphone for my now-dead laptop that didn't work. But I pinned up the curtains with some safety pins and hey, maybe the mic will work with whatever laptop I get now! I also got a whole bunch of stuff from Joanna, who left Japan on Tuesday. Such items include, but are not limited to: pots and pans, spices, shelves, a bookshelf, a plant, a trash can, miscellaneous kitchen utensils, candles, her dual-region DVD player, and other goods (my place is pretty swank, if I do say so myself). I also went bowling and watched the new Michael Jackson movie with a bunch of people that night. It wasn't nearly as good as you might hope it would be.
Tuesday I got into a bike accident in the nearby shopping complex and, long story short, went to the hospital to get four stitches in my chin. Many humorous adventures occurred beforehand, including going to the wrong hospital, missing the parking lot entrance, and almost driving through a red light. The Japanese coteacher who brought me--and speaks very broken English--also told me beforehand that she heard the doctors at this hospital were very young and not very good, and nobody goes there. And I was not at all comforted by the pale yellow brick, its crescent-shaped facade greeting me like a big cigarette-stained smile as I walked in.
Inside was even worse--it really was totally empty, and walking down empty halls into empty waiting rooms and being treated right away by doctors your age speaking a language you don't understand is not at all fun. Definitely more amusing when I was watching it take place in Lost in Translation (speaking of, where the hell's my version of Scarlett Johansson?) Though we did have a great Dr. Nick moment when he told me my jaw had a fracture. "What?!" I replied, panicked, only to have him ask a moment later: "Or maybe not? We have to X-ray to see." Broken English gets me every time! Like when I thought he kept saying my jaw had "information" when he was really saying "inflammation." (That one actually is funny in retrospect)
Anyway, I'm sure I've glossed over a ton of stuff trying to quickly recap my hospital adventure--the original version was two single-spaced pages, cut down to a bare two paragraphs--but I've saved the gems and cut the chaff, so I hope you enjoy this brief version. I should get internet in about a week and a half, if I can get a new laptop before then. If not...well, hopefully I'll be updating regularly sometime before I leave Japan...
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