The weekend was a blur

A blur void of substance.

I didn't leave my apartment once this weekend. I stayed in bed and watched movies and cartoons all day and night.

I was kind of sick: sore throat, achy body, swollen lymph nodes.

I did have fun though! Well, I would have liked to visit my friends in Kashiwa on Friday and Saturday night, but it's 2 hours and 1700yen away (double for a round trip) and I haven't been paid yet. Not once.

I watched the "Censored Eleven", a collection of eleven racists cartoons from the '30s-'40s. They are each available if you want to check them out yourself. I am at a loss for words when it comes to explaining how the cartoonists thought it was appropriate to portray a demographic in such a manner, but it must just be a sign of the times.

I also saw, in no particular order: Tetsuo: The Iron Man, Toy Story 3, Hellboy, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Tetsuo was crazy, dark, messed up, and low budget. Toy Story 3 was touching and fun. Hellboy was entertaining and I'm looking forward to the sequel (tonight!). Diary of a Wimpy Kid was gaaahhhhhh. Or blech. The PROtagonist turned into the ANtagonist as far as I'm concerned. I didn't like him and couldn't believe some all of the choices he made. I liked Rowley though.

Class today went well. I ventured out of the Teacher's Room during cleaning time and I found myself in a third year room helping them clean. I was nice to get a change of atmosphere. Tomorrow all the kids have tests all day except for last period, so it's GAME TIME! I was asked to play a game with the kids instead of teach, to give their brains a rest. We have a choice between some classics: Heads up 7-UP and Silent Ball; as well as some newer games (to me) that will probably be just as fun. One of the new games involves hiding a student from another student who is supposed to look around the room and see if they can tell who is missing. The other students mix up their seating arrangement to make it harder. The other game involves putting the numbers 1-4 in the corners of the room. The students pick a corner to stand in and the teacher calls a number. The students in the corner of the number that was called have to sit down. The remaining students choose different corners and another number is called. Call numbers until four students are left then they each pull numbers from a box and see if they survive.

Yay for games!

Here are some pictures from last week:

Old map of the city of Chikusei

Old picture of the Elementary

Really old picture of the school.
The wing just above the kanji on the ground doesn't exist anymore.

A map of the city from back when it was a stronghold.

All the old clocks sit on shelves in a room at the Middle School

They sit and they tick, all day, everyday.

Earthquake in Joetsu, Niigata!
Right at the end of Dragonball.
I didn't feel it at all, so I'm safe!
This warning comes on the screen 1 minute BEFORE the earthquake hits.
Techno-advantage!