Found my neighbourhood sentou...

Ever since the first visit to an onsen, I've been wanting to make another visit again. Haha!

The thing is there are very few authentic onsens in Tokyo (I think). The next best thing was prolly the sentou (which is same same but different from an onsen).

Well, guess what, I was so glad when I learned that there's a sentou a stone's throw away from my apartment. Yay!

I meant to go the other night, but it was already closed when I checked it out.

Tonight, I got to visit the sentou. It's as local as you want it to be. The shoe lockers are made of wood. The reception is very simple and shared between the male and female sections. I made the stupid mistake of confusing the kanji for male and female and headed for the wrong section. Stupid gaijin. Haha!

The bath area was pretty small. It was okay because when I entered the bath area, there were only two other uncles. After rinsing myself, I went for the ofuro with the piping hot water. It was about 50 degrees Celsius, lol. I actually enjoyed it mainly because the weather outside was damn freezing.

I spent a good hour getting in and out of the ofuro and rinsing myself again. Of course, I felt super super clean again afterwards. I think I'll be a regular at this sentou...

I'm home at 730PM!

Well, this is something that happens once in a blue moon. Haha!

Today, I attended a company training and decided not to teach in the evening anymore. I figured I'd be exhausted from the training (I was right!) so I thought I'd just go home and relax.

It was a good idea. I'm trying to figure out why Image Capture is not recognising my phone but after I solve that, I plan to watch an episode or two of Merlin. Haha!

Not planning on staying up late though because tomorrow, it's back to normal.

First visit to the doctor...

I've been fighting the colds for so long and it looks like I am almost close to losing the battle.

The other day, I know something was not right when my voice sounded deeper than it usually is. Even my coworker noticed it. Lol! While it's a nice thing, I defo knew something was not right.

So, yesterday, I paid a visit to a clinic near the house. Thankfully, there is a clinic nearby. And I'm a lucky boy because there was an English-speaking doctor on duty. I went to the clinic, waited for a few minutes, and was attended to. I'm not sure what the doctor prescribed but I felt better after taking one pill. It must be strong.

In addition to the meds, I also tripled my Vitamin C intake. Ugh, the last thing any foreign worker should want is to get sick in another country. It's costly. The good thing is I'm covered by the government insurance and I only paid 30% of the bill. Still, I'd prefer to pay a monthly rider insurance to cover that extra 30%. I should do some research about it.

Another blessing in disguise this week is that the lessons are slow. It's not good because I'm not earning any money without any lessons, but it's also a chance for me to go home after my morning shift and get some rest before heading back to work in the afternoon.

Winter is just about to start. I hope my body acclimatises asap...

Random emo post...

Now that things are starting to settle down, I started to feel one of the feelings I was worried about.

The other day, I messaged a friend who's also living alone in another country that speaks a different language and asked, "How do you deal with loneliness?"

I thought I should ask this friend because the person has been living solo for more than three years now.

My friend replied, "Well, FB, iMessage, Whatsapp have been most helpful." I agreed with this.

Thanks to these apps, I feel like my family, my best friends are one train ride away. I dunno how overseas workers in the 80s survived without all these apps.

My friend added, "Try to keep yourself busy." So far, I've been successful with this because I do hate idleness. Someone once told me that idleness is the workshop of the devil. Hehe! Hence, it's important to be busy all the time.

Faith has also been of great help. My friend agreed.

It's just one of those days, I guess. It's just like the weather in Tokyo these past few days.

On some days, it gets windy and rainy. Today the sun is out shining again. I want my sunshine again.

Quick post...

Can't believe the year is almost over.

The past few days have been crazy. Work this week is a bit slow. I think it's because a lot of the clients are on winter vacation mode.

Meanwhile, I had my first Christmas in Tokyo. Yay!

I'm glad good friend I-van planned a trip to Tokyo around this time. What would have mostly likely been a solo Christmas became a super fun one!

What a year it's been... 1 of xxx

Sheesh, I can't believe it's almost the end of 2016.

What a year it has been. There are so many things to be thankful for.

In the next few posts, I'd like to have a look back at this wonderful year before I welcome 2017.

Lord Grantham did say, "If we don't respect the past, we'll find it harder to build a future"

The year started with me staying in Bangkok for about a month. Some time last year, I started thinking about what to do moving forward. I love Singapore. I really do. What I wasn't comfortable about was having to renew my work visa every two years. So after having my application for Permanent Residency rejected for four times, I thought it was time to consider my next move.

That's how I thought about teaching. I believed it was something I could do. It is something I think I can do for a long time.

I looked for some English language teaching courses to beef up my credentials. Initially, I found a few courses in Singapore. Continuous research led me to a blog post about CELTA. I got in touch with the blogger to ask some questions. I read some more about CELTA. I was convinced that it was going to be useful.

The next step was deciding where to take it - Singapore or a neighboring country like Thailand. I could take the course in SG but it cost an arm and a leg. I decided to take it in Bangkok. I found two centers that offered the course. In May 2015, I sent my application to IH Bangkok. I did the Skype interview. I got accepted. The next few months were spent preparing for the course. I bought English language teaching books. I signed up for an online grammar course for a refresher. I prepped as much as I could for six months.

Come January this year, I felt ready for the course. It was a good one month in Bangkok. I made some good friends. It was a foretaste of living alone in a country where I don't know anyone. Above all, it was an enriching experience. I'm glad I did the course. I was also happy that I decided to indulge in books and online courses. They were most helpful.

By the time I returned to Singapore in the first week of February, I already had a plan in mind.

Fun Sunday night...

The highlight of today was meeting up with friend Dean.

I've been wanting to go to Shake Shack and find out what all the fuss was about. My original plan was to go with Tey. Unfortunately, her trip got canceled. I asked Dean if he wanted to go to the place. Surprise, surprise. It turned out he's never been.

We were very lucky because the branch we went to was not crowded tonight. Maybe because it's a Sunday? I dunno. The last time I was at Meiji Jingu Gaien, Shake Shack was packed. There was a looooong queue.

Tonight, we were blessed. Omg, the burgers were really good. Juicy, savory, heavenly. Haha! The cheese fries were also nice. However, it got cold fast because of the weather. The shakes were sinfully delicious! I tried one of the Christmas flavors and it was awesome!

After dinner, Dean suggested we go to a nearby batting cage. I've never been so I was up for it. It was actually funnnn! One round was 21 batting tries. I managed to do 3 rounds. Hmm, surprisingly I did hit the ball a few times. Haha! I definitely want to try it again!

It was a super Sunday night thanks to Dean!

Christmas is almost here...

But I don't really feel it...

Haha!

I need to find time to sit down and write a proper blog post. Ugh!

Today was a pretty good day.

Tuesday...

It's been a slow day... at work and in general.

I only had two lessons this morning. After my lessons, I went to Shinjuku to do some bank transfer services. I am seriously missing the ease and convenience of DBS Internet banking. I've yet to figure how to do a direct bank transfer to my account in SG. This time, I had to trouble Jon to get the money from a Moneygram counter and deposit it to my account.

Anyway, after finishing my bank errands, I headed back to my office area. Since I only decided to open my evening lessons this morning, I don't think I'll get any lesson bookings.

Feeling a bit down, I decided to go first to my happy place in Ginza to see if there's any pick-me-up. There were almost a few. LOL! Since I had time to kill, I decided to walk from Ginza all the way to Otemachi. The weather was lovely and Otemachi is just a little over a kilometer away from Ginza.

It was a good walk.

Now, I'm just here in my cube chilling. Tomorrow, I'm only teaching in the morning and I've already prepped for those lessons so I'm good. In the afternoon, I only have to go to the earthquake evacuation drill. I decided to skip teaching in the evening so that I can meet up with friend Makoto.

It's December....

I can't believe it's already December!!! Time flies!

What a year it's been! 2016 is definitely one of the best years of my life. Haha!

Today, I went to the Philippine embassy because I need to renew my passport. Initially, I made an appointment to have it renewed in Singapore. But then, the whole move to Tokyo happened.

The biggest difference is that it's sooo much easier to get a passport renewal appointment here in Tokyo than in Singapore. I dunno. Maybe I'm just lucky. In Singapore, I didn't have time to renew my passport because the next available appointment date was two months (or was it a month?) later. Here, I made the appointment online two days ago and voila, there was an available date today.

The online appointment can be done -- http://tokyo.philembassy.net/pponline/

The second biggest difference is the required documents. I only had to bring my old passport, a printout of the application form, a self-addressed letter pack, a copy of my IC, and that was it. (I've to find out though how to register with POEA/OWWA and also how to pay my SSS and PhilHealth).

My appointment was between 1:30 and 3:30. Singapore taught me to be kiasu so I was in Roppongi by 12. Haha! That gave me enough time to grab a quick bite before heading to the embassy.

The whole thing took about 90 minutes or so.

Looking forward to get my new passport.... in a month or two.

Freeezinggg... brrr...

So, today, I had my first experience of extremely freezing weather.

Ever since I moved to Tokyo, it has become my habit to check the weather forecast for the day. I rely on the Weather app a lot and so far it has been accurate.

I did see the forecast about the temperatures dropping to 2 degrees (even negative) but I'm stupid and decided to see if I can brave the weather. Lol!

Turns out I couldn't.

When I stepped out of the house this morning, I already felt that it was a different kind of cold today. I only had my trusty CDG scarf with me. Lol! Thankfully, it's only a 3-minute walk from the apartment to the train station.

By the time I reached my office, I was already freezing. I checked the Weather app again and there were no signs of the temp getting warmer today or anytime soon. For some reason, it also felt cold inside the learning center.

After my morning lessons, I had to go to the library in Kudanshita. The book I borrowed was due. I thought the return date was tomorrow. Good thing I checked it this morning and to my horror, I saw that the return date should have been last Monday.

The library is a short walk from Kudanshita Station but because of the weather, it took me forever. I was cursing every step of the way. Haha!

I decided I really have to get a coat. There's no escaping it.

Sooo, I headed to Ginza. I didn't want to spend too much on a coat so I thought of going to a certain department store. If I'm not mistaken, it's part of the Uniqlo family. The price points of the items are really good. I headed to the 5F and tried on a number of coats. I sent photos to some girl friends in Manila to get their opinions.

Well, guess what, I walked out of store empty handed. Haha! I decided I'll go first to my favorite store at the other side of Ginza to see if I can find any awesome piece.

I DID! And it only cost a few thousand yen more than the coats I was looking at.

The difference was I'm in love with the coat that I got. Nah, it's not Comme des Garcons. Again, I didn't want to spend too much on a coat since I know I'll store it in the closet come March next year. Hehe!

There were actually two choices. The other one was an Agnes B Homme. It was a light all black trench. I tried it on but I wasn't happy with the fit. I looked at the other racks and I just wasn't willing to pay the amount. Hehe!

I was almost decided to go back to the other store until I walked over to another rack that sold outerwear/coldwear. There I found it!

It didn't take me long to decide to get it. I thought it was really a steal. Hehe! Thank you, my dear store! You're so bad you're so good!

No work tomorrow...

Hooray, there's no work tomorrow!

While I was finishing my last lesson earlier, the thought came to mind and I have to say that I'm relieved I don't have to wake up at 530 tomorrow morning.

As you may have read in the news, this morning was quite interesting.

Usually, I take either the 550AM train or the 559AM train. Earlier, I noticed that the 559 train was delayed. It finally arrived at 6AM. I got on the train and I wondered why it took so long before the train doors closed.

At the same time, it felt that the train was being gently rocked. I thought it was nothing special.

The train driver made an announcement but I couldn't understand it. The only word I caught was jishin, which was the Japanese word for earthquake.

It was only when I reached the office that my suspicion was confirmed. It was indeed an earthquake.

The whole time, my concern was "I cannot be late for work!" Lol!

Oh, I was so touched by the thoughtfulness of my friends. When I checked my phone after my morning lessons, there were loads of messages from Manila, Singapore, and the US asking if I was okay. Thank you for these friends!

It was all yellow...

Some more photos of the lovely trees lining Icho Namiki.

FALL in love.

Fall in love with fall...

The highlight of the day, or maybe the week is going to Icho Namiki to see the autumn foliage.

Originally, my plan today was go to the Van Gogh exhibit. However, my friend was late and I felt we didn't have enough time to explore the exhibit. Also, I was discouraged by the huge crowd of people visiting the exhibit. Well, it's my fault. It's Van Gogh! Of course, it'll be crowded.

So, instead I suggested we go to Icho Namiki. A client this morning told me about it and that it's a nice spot to see some autumn colors. He was right.

It's my first time to experience Fall and if only for the beautfiul spectacle of seeing brilliant colors, I'm loving fall. Lol!

The Icho Namiki is very near from Aoyama-Itchome Subway Station.

The power of toasted bread...

In my current home, the wifi access is only limited to the common area - living room and kitchen. I'm not sure about the reason behind it but that's how things are. However, there are LAN ports in every room.

Since I moved in, I've been the only one (or so I think) who goes to the common area with his laptop to connect to the net. Hehe!

So I figured my other housemates prolly have a LAN cable or their own routers in their rooms. I could have gone to any of the electronics shop to get a LAN cable. However, I've been delaying it because I was fine working in the common area. It allowed me to say hi to the other housemates. I'm more concerned with looking for Comme des Garcons deals than a LAN cable. Haha! Priorities.

Anyway, I'm happy to write that I'm now finally typing this on my laptop in my room.

Yesterday morning, I woke up 30 minutes than my usual time. Since I had a lot of time, I figured I could have breakfast at home and save a few hundred yen.

When I got into the common area, my housemate Hiro* was there. He said he forgot his room key at the office so he ended up sleeping at the living room.

After the hi and hello, I opened the fridge and took out my stuff. I needed to buy some groceries again. I still had some hotdog, ham, cheese, butter, jam, but I only had three thick slices of bread left. There was also not much coffee left. Initially, I wanted to make a ham and cheese sandwich and a half strawberry jam sandwich for myself.

My parents raised me well though so I asked Hiro if he wanted some toast. First, I asked him if he wanted butter and jam on his toast. He said he just wanted butter. Stupid me, late did I realise I could also offer ham, cheese and hotdog. Haha! It was still way early I guess. My brain was not yet properly working. Anyway, I did end up offering him other stuff and in the end, I prepped two half ham/cheese toasts and a butter jam toast. I also offered him coffee. Thankfully, there was enough to fill up two mugs. Hehe!

Hiro and I started talking about work and stuff. I told him I needed to buy a LAN cable. Surprise, surprise. He said he has an extra one, which he could lend to me. Hooray!

He also had other stuff to say. Our neighbor is an okonomiyaki/monja place. Hiro told me that the son wants to practice his English because he's going to study in the US next year. Hiro said the family can't pay me in cash, but they were willing to give me good food. Hehe! In my head, I thought the son can afford to go to the US to study but they can't pay my measly fee. Hehe!

Of course, I'm just kidding. I'd be happy to do it for free because it's also good practice for me. I didn't say that, of course. I gave Hiro my free time sched and he said he'd talk to the family. Nice.

See how powerful toasted bread is! It can make a huge change in your life! LOL!

Relaxed Friday...

Today was a pretty relaxed day.

I'm not so sure why, but I only had 4 booked lessons out of the 11 slots I made myself available for.

It does have a good side and a not-so-good side.

Obviously, the good side was I was able to take it easy today. After my morning lessons, I went to Waseda for my Japanese classes. After that, I met up with a new friend Jack for lunch. He lives one station away from Waseda. He worked from home this morning so we were able to meet up for lunch. It's a rainy day today. That added to making this day even colder.

After lunch with Jack, I headed back to Otemachi to prepare for my lessons tomorrow and the following days. I finished my preparation quite early. With an hour or so to kill, I decided to go for a walk around the neighbourhood. Then, it was work time. I figured it would be a slow night. I decided to close my last two lessons for the night and headed home early.

The not-so-good side is that my income is based on my lesson bookings. I set a monthly target of lesson bookings that would allow me to have the level of comfortable life that I want for myself. So far, I was able to meet my target for the first two months. I constantly pray that I will meet that target.

On my first month, I was stressed out by it. However, I woke up one day, read my fave holy verse (Matthew 6:34) and after that, I told myself I don't want to be stressed anymore. I'm not the most religious person, but I do keep my faith. It's one thing that's been helping me get by in my new life. I love being here, I can't believe that I'm here. It does get lonely sometimes because I don't have the loads of friends that I have in Singapore. I'm not complaining though. I prayed for this blessing, and I'm truly grateful for this blessing. I'm just writing down a fact. Hehe!

Okay, that's it. Happy weekend!

Superb tonkatsu place near my house...

It's been a good day.

There were many lessons today but it wasn't very tiring. Maybe because they were evenly spaced out through the day. Or maybe because I had enough sleep last night. In any case, it was a good day. Thank you, Lordy.

I wanted to look for a pair of pants similar to the AX office pants I have right now. I love the material and I love the cut. Unfortunately, I have not been successful in finding a similar pair.

After work, I went to Kitasenju to look for the pants and because, I also wanted to visit my fave shop. Lol.

No pants. No new stuff at my fave shop. I was already planning to take the train back home when I saw a sign saying that a certain tonkatsu restau opened in the mall where I was.

Hmm, I debated whether I should go to the place and have dinner there. The first and only time I ate at the said restau was last year when I went to Kyoto. I'm not sure if the restau has several branches in Tokyo or if the branch in Kitasenju is their first branch in Tokyo.

It's a bit pricey. The basic set costs almost Y2000. Sure, the rice, the cabbage, and the miso soup are all refillable. I kinda feel it's still pricey. But I have to say that it is the best miso I've tasted ever! Hehe!

I debated for a bit if I should go for it or if I should just settle for something regular. A few more hundred yen and I could already purchase another pair of Comme des Garcons socks. Lol! In the end, I decided to treat myself to a nice dinner.

It was worth it. To minimize my guilt about finishing the rice, I decided I'll take the train route that entailed a 14-minute walk back to my house. The weather was nice tonight, so I really didn't mind the walk. Haha!

Rush rush Tuesday...

I had a bit of an emergency today.

Really, really thankful for the kindness of people.

Last night, I did a bank transfer for my rent pay. I thought everything went well until I got an email this morning that the transaction was not successful.

On any other day, I would've been relaxed because I usually have that free hours before my afternoon/evening work starts. But today, I had a training until 4PM. My next lesson was at 530PM. I had to rush from Nishi-Shinjuku to Tokyo Station hoping that the bank was still open.

Upon reaching the bank, I was close to panicking because it was already 420. Thankfully, two bank staff helped me set up the online payee account correctly and we were able to send the payment again.

I thanked them a million times looking like a stupid gaijin but I was just really grateful. From Tokyo Station, I walked as fast as I could to Otemachi to reach my learning center just in time for my lesson.

Thank you to the kindness of people, really. Thank you to Lordy for always looking after me.

Random post...

For the first time yesterday, I felt lonely for a short period.

It's Saturday night, work was over and I was on my way home.

I was looking at the videos on my phone and I came across a few videos of the Friday nights SG friends and I went clubbing. Those were really fun times. In particular, I enjoyed the spur of the moment clubbing nights.

After Tipz left for Aus, our former party of three (Tipz, me and Jon) because a party of two (me and Jon). On more than one occasion, Jon and I would agree to meet up after work for a round of drinks at Neil Road. That round of drinks would turn out to be an all-nighter (sort of).

When I moved here to Tokyo, I didn't really have time to think about Friday night clubbing as I was preoccupied about other things.

Now that things are starting to have some semblance of normality, I have more time to feel other things. Lol!

I'm quite certain that last night was just one of those random moments of loneliness. I should keep myself busy to meet more people (hopefully) or just so I don't have to feel that "alone" feeling.

Sun is out again!

Good morning from Otemachi!

The sun is out again today so yay!