After I pulled the curry off the heat I suddenly realized the wisdom of precooked rice. M-s had pointed it out to me on Wednesday, but I thought, "Why would I buy it like that when I could make it?" Oh, I would buy it like that when I only have one burner and want to be able to eat all my food at once! I realized that in the future, the rice needed to be cooked first. I could have eaten the curry solo, but I wanted to make it stretch a little further so I pulled out my Japanese rice. It was at this time that funny moment #1 happened. I got out the bag of prewashed rice. (M-s pointed out another that was the same kind of rice but unwashed. It was only ¥25 cheaper so I went with the prewashed as the water it would save me on my water bill I'm sure will be over ¥25.) I assumed that the water to rice ratio was the same as the states and measured out 1/2 of one of my new cups in rice. Then I filled another cup and put that in the little frying pan. I also took a picture of my finished curry. Once I got the water boiling, I washed the other dishes that had accumulated (the cutting board and chicken knife) and stringed a piece of line for my kitchen towel, a hand towel, my washcloth, and my pot holder. (Although I took the pot holder down when I took the curry off the heat. -Incidentally that pot holder was crocheted for me by Shannon Borcherds. She is a lovely, talented lady and I have a piece of her with me here in Japan!) Eventually the water boiled so I turned the heat down from 800 to 600 and added the rice. When I turned the heat to 500, it wouldn't boil so I figured 600 was the "low heat" setting for boiling the rice. Well, American rice takes 20 minutes, covered, to cook. I set the timer for 20 minutes and luckily the pan I got has a glass lid. So I was able to see that the rice was progressing faster than I imagined it would. I got down the bag of rice and on the back it said, "10-15 (kanji for minutes)." I then went back and revised my timer so it would go off at 13 minutes. I kept checking the rice during the last 3 minutes to make sure I didn't overdo it. I put away all the clothes I could and moved my spices from my suitcase (I brought a few that I had from my apartment back home) to the top of my fridge. I also found a small bag of Cheez-its! My lucky day! I snacked on a few since by this time it was around 13h00 and all I'd had for breakfast was a grapefruit yogurt (really yummy btw) and some dill pickle sunflower seeds. (I only have a few left, dang it!) I also jotted down some foods in a note in my phone just in case people ask me what foods I miss so I could tell them. <-- That's not a hint. I just believe in being prepared! :D After the rice finished, I pulled it off the heat and put it into one of my newly washed saucer-plates. I then added some curry and took a picture of my achievement-unlock. ("Cooking in Japan") I sat down and settled in to eat. I really wanted to read while I ate but seeing as I had run out of books, I pulled up youtube on my phone and watched some Scary Snowman episodes. (Oh also while I was making lunch I straightened my fringe and put on my make-up so by the time I was done eating, I was also ready to leave my apartment.) Before I left though, I tupperwared the remainder of my curry and washed the dishes, and cleaned off the stove plate.
At first when leaving, I wasn't going to take my guitar. I was intimidated about finding the place and then asking for help, but I figured, I've done so much (well, the Lord has helped me to do so much so far), I can do this! Besides, I really wanted to be able to play it! So I pulled up the map, grabbed Vic, grabbed my bag and was out the door. The maps feature on the iPhone .. well there are a lot of jokes about it. However, it got me to the right vicinity. I walked into a bookstore (the picture that had shown on maps when I looked up the address Brian had sent) and was sent 3 doors down. (No pun intended) I confirmed with ASL (moving my hand further left while showing "1, 2," then "3" and went out to find the shop. Walking in, there was a studio space with 2 sets of drums and lots of open floor space. There were stairs leading up and I waited to see if anyone would come down or say anything and after not hearing anything, I headed upstairs. I found the music store! It was great! The smell of guitars is delicious! In any case, I pulled out my phone (to pull up my translator) and in the meantime showed the guy behind the counter the poor status of Vic. He asked me to wait and went into the back. He came back with a guy who looked like a guitarist (long hair, earring, studded bracelet, etc) and that guy took over. He was a pro! He quickly took the strings out and put the neck back on in the right place. He then expertly re-stringed Vic within a matter of minutes. He also pulled out a new e string, put that in, and tuned her. During all of this, he helped 3 customers. It was really amazing to watch him work. He then plugged her in and made sure with a small amp that she was actually in tune. He replaced a few other missing parts (some cosmetic) then went to get his laptop. He showed me a translation that said something along the lines of, "The internal parts have problems." I wrote on my translator, "I will come back later for that. I don't even have an amplifier right now." He nodded after seeing what I had written and I went to pay the bill. While he had been working I kept trying to figure out how much it would cost. Really for me, I thought ¥2000 is worth it to me to be able to play guitar again! ($21.32 US) I hoped it wouldn't be much more than that. Oh also while he was helping me eventually the other guy came back and was running the register. I was charged for the string ¥84 and then there was a discussion about the little parts he'd put on and the labor. At least, that was my assumption. ... They only charged me ¥53!! I was floored. I wanted to give them more money but there's not really a way for me to do that - they don't even take tips on meals. o.0 I'm SO blessed (mmm). It still blows my mind that I only paid ¥137 to have an opportunity to play guitar. Some things in Japan are EXPENSIVE, and some things are just really cheap. I made sure to turn to the guy who had done all the work, bow, hold the bow, and say, "Doumo arigatou gozaimashita."
After that, I tried to pull up the map to the office, but found out that the bookmark I had tried to create the day before had not been created. However, I was pretty sure I could get there without a problem and off I went. (Before I had left, I'd grabbed some Dove Chocolates to give to the office people for all their help and I knew that Johnny was going to be doing a demo so I figured he could use chocolate too.) The timing was perfect (mmm) for me to see Johnny. He was just making the turn to go back to the hotel from the office when he saw me waiting to cross the street. He waited and we chatted a few minutes. I tried to give him the chocolate but he said he doesn't eat it. He doesn't care for sweets at all. However he was very gracious about it and thanked me for thinking of him. He said his demo went very well as he'd woken up at "half six" and had had lots of time to prepare and practice (he'd worked on it yesterday but I guess the extra time paid off). He said the other new guy Interac just hired did a demo too. He's an American who's been living here for 4 years and teaching English with someone else. So Johnny said naturally he was very good. Johnny was surprised to see me with a guitar and said, "I didn't know you played!" It sounded like, from the way he said it, that he plays as well. I'm glad to have something in common with him. Johnny is a really cool guy but we've haven't talked much as I don't drink - so the nights he went out with Kiwi James and Scott to drink, I was at the hotel with everyone else or up in my room writing a blog post. In any case, we finished chatting and I continued to Interac.
At the office, as I got off the elevator I saw a guy I didn't recognize. I figured he was the new guy, and we were both sort of surprised to see one another and just said, "Hello" and went our separate ways. I entered the office with a "shitsureshimasu" (as I had done the day before and I believe that's the proper etiquette) When Bryan saw my guitar he freaked! He was so happy and jumped up and asked where I'd gotten it and could he see it. I told him, "I brought her here with me." And we talked for a bit about guitars and he played me a few songs. After that I passed out the chocolates one at a time (using both hands and slightly lifting the gift above my head while bowing and saying "Arigatou, thank you for all your help." Sato-san immediately gave me a gift in return. I felt badly as I had tried to make it clear that >I< was already in their debt and that's why I was giving them chocolate (gift giving etiquette can get a little sticky in Japan). After I had done that, I asked Tsukasa to re-enter to address of the office so I could save it explaining that I had not done it correctly the day before and I wanted to be able to come back to the office from anywhere in the city. She did so and then I asked about a supermarket I had been unable to find myself (using katakana). Bryan found the one I wanted and I was actually able to pull it up all by myself on my phone! Yeah! I bragged about my cooking feats and Tsukasa taught me how to make a white soup and I asked her about making miso and she taught me how to do that too. I'm going to get the ingredients tomorrow. :) I saved the location of the store (Maruichi - マルイチ) and took my leave with a "Shitsureshimashita."
I thought about going to the grocery store but my blister was hurting, my cramps were hurting, and the guitar plus my bag were getting heavier. On the way I stopped at a Conbini (convenience store) for a few easy things. I ended up paying more, but I got just what I felt like I needed. I grabbed a Monster (to help with my cramps), a spicy ramen cup so I wouldn't have to do too much cooking for dinner, and some chocolate.
I got to message my brother a bit this morning through facebook (Nathanael) and that was nice. I am at home right now sitting on my bed typing this up. I plan to have an uneventful evening of dinner and guitar. I wish I had some reading material (and I checked a bookstore on the way home but there was no selection of English). In any case, I'm still very blessed and had a very productive day. My blister and knee hurt but they didn't keep me inside. Tomorrow I will go shopping for some more groceries and plan on making miso assuming I have the willpower to cook! I may end up waiting until Sunday, but hopefully everything will go according to plan. :) Happy Friday to you all!
Funny moments:
I found out that the pan I brought all the way here is useless to me! The hot plate/stove I'm using will only take certain pans. Luckily M-s helped me find that small frying pan and medium saucepan (she knew I needed a specific kind of pan). Yeesh. But hey, mmm, I was able to cook!
As I continued to the office, I saw a guy pulling out of a parking lot across the street. I had looked because there was a yellow light blinking and a siren of sorts going off. I didn't know what that meant and when I saw the driver looking at me, I smiled at him and faced back the way I was going. As he pulled out, he yelled, "Hey!" at me. I just smiled and kept going. I'm not sure what the whole thing means.
While passing out the chocolates, I got to Saori. Bryan was standing behind her and he thought I was going to hand the chocolate to him. When I didn't he was like, "Hey! I want chocolate! I thought you were going to give that to me!" -"*laughs* I have one for you, I'm just handing them out one at a time since I am using both hands." -He nodded at my use of etiquette and gratefully took the chocolate.
DAH! I ate the little cookie thing that Sato-san gave me on the street. It totally slipped my mind that the Japanese don't do that. Dang it. I felt badly that I had done so and hope that no one was offended. I just forgot!
Also on my walk home, a business man passed close to me and kissed his lips at me. I was completely caught off guard. I just gaped at him and kept walking. LOL Also a couple days ago, an elderly man got very close to me at a crosswalk (we were both waiting to cross) and he just gaped at me (with his mouth visibly open)! He followed me for a couple blocks, walking very close to me and gaping the whole time. I smiled down at him a few times because I didn't know what else to do! He never said a word to me and eventually turned off down a side street!
XOXO, A (The pictures of my cooking are on fb - I deleted them off my phone before I thought to post them here! Sorry! Check fb!)
However:
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| My ac-heater unit |
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| The controller! I've become a button-masher, lol - works though! |
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