Man! I've been negligent!! It sure has been a long time since my last post... And a number of things has happened since then. Here's a few highlights:

I finally got a car. It's a small car, Daihatsu Charade. Cute, and cozy with a big enough engine. It was dirt cheap and it has one more year of shakken. (Shakken is a car inspection that you have to get every 2 years or so, it can cost over a thousand dollars, so I wanted a car that already had been checked for a year or two.)

I also got my real drivers license here in Japan. Before, I'd been using an International Driving permit, but that was only good until this July, so I had to take the driving test. Also, since I am from US, I need to take the written and driving test here, which is hard for foreigners to pass, and (the driving portion) administered all in Japanese. But, I was lucky!! I passed my first go.

We had summer break at the schools. That doesn't mean much, because it lasts only 3 weeks and I still have to work. Plus the kids still have club activities and tutoring, so they don't get a break either...

But, my summer break was enjoyable, because my family came to visit me here in Japan!! My mother, father, and younger sister came to Furano and stayed at my house for the first 2 weeks of Summer break. (during which time, I used my payed leave.) We had a really good time and everyone in my town wanted to meet them and have dinner with them, etc. We also stayed 3 days in Sapporo where they met one of the other things that has happened since I last posted... *** correction, it happened before my last post, I just noticed that***

That being: My girlfriend. I've actually been friends with her through the musical since about December, but... now we are not just friends. She's really wonderful. I actually believe that I've found my soul mate. Anyway, I won't go on about her, suffice it to say that she is the same age as me, she is Japanese (but speaks good English), and she lives in Sapporo. And that I thought enough of our relationship that I introduced her to my parents on probably their only trip to Japan. She got along really well with my family, we all had a great time.

...so, maybe that can explain in short my laziness in blogging. :) But, if not, I'm sure I could think up some other excuses... er, valid possible causes for my posting vacation. :) I'll be around. Posting... yes, posting... shortly...