Well, I haven't been very good about updating my blog lately.

The weekends are fun, but sometimes the week drags along. It is now August 31 and I have yet to submit any of my work to a journal. I need a better place to write. I miss the GSU library and the way you could get lost and find a quiet spot all to yourself. Our apartment just isn't conducive to creativity--Zack has a hard time making himself paint here, too. I have yet to find a coffee shop or other comfortable place to write in Miyada. I was going to a temple every day to write for a while, but I really prefer writing via computer; it lets you get more thoughts down faster. I'm going to look for a place that's good for writing near the school I'm sort of working for. Let's all hope that works out for me.

Andy and Michael stopped in for a visit last weekend during their 10-day trip to Japan. It was so nice to share a little of our experience living here with some old friends, with people who have known us for years. I want everyone I know to walk outside and see beautiful mountains in the distance. It was like sharing Christmas with a little kid; it's just more fun when people who are truly excited are around. It was a weekend filled with inside jokes, eating delicious traditional cuisine, and just having fun, like we used to do back in college. We missed them when they left for Tokyo.

We ordered books from Amazon Japan. Zack has already gotten two of the books he ordered, both of which I had already read. I'm getting a little antsy waiting for my books to arrive. The Internet is killing my creativity. I came across this quote the other day, a quote that I remember liking in my Creative Nonfiction class:

"But a writer is not an artist until he is unwilling to be published at all costs." --Philip Gerard

That's really how I feel about writing; it is an art form. The reason I haven't submitted is twofold: I have pieces that I generally like but they don't feel finished and I have pieces that don't really say what I want them to say and I'm not satisfied. As long as I'm working towards something, I'm doing okay. I really do want to get published and get my name out there, but I don't want my name on anything that I don't really love. I can't aim for perfection--perfection is the killer of art--but I can aim for my best. I hope I'm not just making excuses for myself.

And in job news, this weekend I'm going to finally start on the daunting task of getting a Japanese driver's license. Zero to One (the school that I'm sort of working for, also known as "School 1" in earlier posts) won't let me sign a contract until I have a license, and I can't apply for a work visa until I have a contract. I went to work for School 2 last week and the owner said he would call me to discuss things, but he never did. So I have less than a month left on my tourist visa. I've decided that my best course of action is to secure a contract during these next few weeks, then leave the country for a week or so and apply for a work visa before coming back into Japan. If I stay here, it might take two or more months to switch my visa status. It only took a week for Zack to get a work visa in the States.

As lonely as it is sometimes, I'm not ready to give up this amazing opportunity to live in a new place. It has its ups and downs, like every place, but I love being here. And the thought of not living with Zack...well, let's just say we're in this for the long haul. :) Zack and I are trying to figure out where I should go when my visa runs out. My return ticket is back to the States, so I'd like to go there, but a ticket back to Japan might be super expensive. We have a few friends in Korea, but I don't know how easy it would be to get a work visa there...immigration is so complicated. Of course I'll keep everyone posted on what I finally decide to do.