It is hot.

  As it is July in southeastern VA this should not be news...but it bears mentioning as I don't have AC in the pickup of peril. Hot...

  I FINALLY paid off Old Dominion the last of the 3800 dollars owed them for the past semester. I sign up for next semesters classes Monday. I'm trying to get off tomorrow so I can be in line at 07:30 and avoid said line. (I should be able to do most via computer, but my account is still locked).

I've got a drill next week, I've got to get my uniforms to the tailor.
...and cut my grass..
...and the folks grass....
...and go to work...
...and catsit for the folks...

OH WHY WON'T THE VACATION START ALREADY

I have this silly fear  that something is going to interfere with my vacation plans. There are only....

  17 days till I leave for that thar ole' Jaypan.

  I can scarcely believe it.
  I'd nearly given up hope on doing anything like this.
  A decade ago I was living in my car. I've had ups and downs since and both  because I kept trying to keep to part time jobs to mesh with school...and had terrible financial discipline for a time....my disposable income has been fleeting at times.

  I am a little apprehensive because...frankly...this trip is not entirely wise. My discretionary budget will be very tight and it will nearly tap out the available savings. If anything happens with the tuition assistance again, I'll not be going to school next semester, as the money already spent in dribs and drabs on this trip is what I'd need to use for fall tuition.

This year especially has been a seemingly endless cascade of unpleasant financial surprises,  the tuition assistance falling through, the late fees associated therewith, medical bills, home and appliance repairs and a semesters tuition worth of car and truck repairs. By rights I should be socking this money into mutual funds...which if I'd done  in the past would have had me quite comfortable now. Compound interest is the path to prosperity....but only if you save.

  OTOH, this is an exceedingly rare opportunity to see Japan and go with someone who knows the pitfalls and how to avoid paying more than necessary. The plane ticket, room, and rail pass have cost a fair bit less than a semesters tuition....barely exceeding what most people pay for the ticket alone. Accommodations are spartan, but I can certainly deal. The additional expenses will consist of food, toiletries and the extent to which I fail to resist otokuesque urges.

I'm 37, and aside from the Bahamas and Canada, have never been out of the US. I've wanted to do this for almost 2 decades and now it is in my grasp...so I'm going for it.

On a practical level, I can rationalize it as helping with my Japanese studies...and it surely will. ( never again will I find myself in a Japanese class as the ONLY student who hasn't been to Japan for at least a month ) I also intend to scope out universities I might want to attend in a year or 2, (several have agreements with ODU) and get a better sense of the job opportunities for English tutors.

 But this is not really a school or business trip...this is my first real vacation in over a decade. I'm a licensed diver and haven't dived with tanks  in almost 10 years or had cable in 7 because I was going to hold off until I had my debts paid off. Well they're just about all paid off....so I'm going to see Hokkaido...Kyoto...Ginza...my contact addy is  going to be  in downtown Tokyo for 21 days....AND I'M GONNA CLIMB MOUNT FUJI!! 

Anyway, that's the plan...if in the next 17 days there is a hurricane causes me to be mobilized...or some other pitfall happens, most of this money will go down the rathole that consumed no less than 5 semesters worth of tuition in the last decade when life/health/work intervened....but right now I'm going for it...My eyes are on the weather channel and my fingers are crossed.


Oh..and I'm brushing up on my Japanese....

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 08:53 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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