Internet

I moved to a different workstation yesterday to be closer to the Math people. I was kind of regretting giving up prime real estate over by the English teaching people. I had higher cubicle walls in the back where there was less foot traffic. My new place is a bit more open and towards the front. However, after talking with the people near me, I realized that this is a pretty friendly group, too. The people are also from a wider range of places, which is cool.

I did have issues with getting my internet connection at my desk. I needed a new LAN cable which took most of yesterday to get hooked up. I realized how dependent on the internet I am to do my job. Most of the information I need is on the school network. I REALLY had no idea what to do yesterday with no internet.

I still haven't had my internet connection installed at home. I need to get my visa processed before I can apply for it...or so I thought. I went in to the visa office yesterday and found out that all I needed was a letter saying that the visa was applied for. Once I got that, I caught a cab to the company that provides internet service and did the paperwork. Because I couldn't do much at work anyway, I figured it was a good time to get that taken cared of. I don't really have a good idea what's fast for an internet connection so I signed up for the fastest wireless modem that was available for my building. I was also warned that they would give me two weeks of internet temporarily, but if I didn't bring back my processed visa in that time, they would shut off the net. Considering that in Japan I don't think I would've even got the two weeks, I was happy to get it.

I knew the area a little (see the photos) and knew that the bike shop that everyone recommends was near. After getting turned around once or twice, I found it. Though the 15 minutes of wandering around in 100 degree heat while wearing a black business suit (black funeral suit in Japan) was enough to sweat through my shirt. After cooling off for a few minutes, I made a note to come back with my bike later and began looking for a taxi. I then realized why the guy who drove me out there asked if I wanted him to wait. There were no empty taxis around. It was a fairly long wait until I caught a driver who was on his way home. Because I was glad to get a ride, I didn't mind that he didn't know where my school was and that I didn't know what to tell him to get me there. The plus side of that is on the ride back, I found the Segway dealership. It's near the hooka shop ("For all your smoking needs")