well I think I finally caught up on the LJ entries - hadn't looked for about two days.

we've been shopping for a car, and I think we found one. I'll post tomorrow if it works out. don't want to jinx things now.

I'm so so tired - and so so exhausted mentally. I was starting to feel very well adjusted to this new life, but then M came and he made things seem all wrong. He is not happy here yet - that may change though - he still hasn't even been here a week. But things are stressful. I can't go into it now - it's about 12:36 a.m. (though the clock on my LJ shows the time in Japan still - do I need to change the time on my computer?) and I'm quite tired. But I had to catch up online and with my emails. M's been hogging the computer since he got back - and I'm letting him. He is jet-lagged and homesick, so I feel for him. I can relate.

It's amazing how I went from such a quiet, peaceful life of doing nothing in Japan, to this noisy, crazy, fast-paced life of always being busy! I think things will eventually calm down once we get a car and get into a routine. My job is good, but it's so tiring since I am learning new things and under some stress with lots of things to do every day. And at home, I always have something to do - clean, or cook, or organize things. and of course I still have my taxes to think about. The atmosphere here is so totally different from where we were living in Japan - there was noise, but it was more during the day. Here it's all the time because we are in the city. I don't really notice much noise inside my apartment - my neighbors are quiet, and mostly we don't hear street noise. But sirens go by here a lot, and it's a very busy street. Our location is very convenient though, so I can put up with sirents - even though sometimes there are some weird people hanging around, and it's important to be alert.

I think I want to move back to a small town again... of course the idea of moving, especially when I haven't even received my boxes from Japan, is absurd. So...

Onwards and upwards, as my mom would say. I can't dwell on the things that are not good, I have to just keep moving forward. I made this decision, and I have to stick with it. I just wish that my other half would feel the same way.

Oh, and on a sad note, I found out yesterday that the Grandfather of one of my former students died. Satoko was a girl I tutored when I was living in Japan from 1998 to 2000 - her Grandfather sought me out at the local community center where I was teaching and hired me to tutor Satoko. I went to the family's house once a week for two years, and got to know them all well. The Grandfather, Nakano-san, spoke perfect English (he traveled for his job) and was so kind and cheerful. He will be missed, and I feel so sad I didn't see him before I left. Last year, the principal of the high school where I taught also died. It's hard hearing about people's death when you are far away...

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. wish me luck with the car search...