Here it Comes!

When I got the news from that two-faced company, I was really angry. In the past I was worried, nervous, scared, frustrated, and exhausted. But this time I was just pissed.

So I've decided to let them go, and I took matters into my own hands.

I went and signed up for unemployment yesterday. It will help out for up to three months. I have to show I'm looking for a job in that time, but in addition to my privates that should support me being here.

Then we went to Immigration (Randy went with me). They told me that since it's expiring and I don't have another job, I could only apply for a change of status. I'm basically being changed into a tourist and will have 90 days under that visa.

I'm not supposed to work under that visa, but due to extraneous circumstances, they are hopefully giving me an allowance of part-time work (up to 28 hours a week). I have to apply for that special permission once I get the tourist visa squared away. They are unusually sympathetic because the NOVA problem is famous nationwide. Without the work permission, I can't collect the unemployment.

At the end of the three months, I have to either have found a job or I need to leave the country (like take a day trip to South Korea) and return to get the tourist visa renewed for another 90 days. All I'll really need at that time is 2 and a half months. The second time, they won't let me work legally, but by then, the unemployment benefits will have run out anyway, so I don't really care if I have that permission or not.

And Randy is determined to get me to start aikido this January. He's going to make sure I have the start-up money and was encourage/trying to push me to visit the dojo yesterday, which was great and very supportive of him (but I was exhausted after going through two Japanese bureaucracies and trying to speak to them in Japanese, no less). he's been great through all of this, even taking a day away from his vacation here to make sure these things were taken care of.

AND, I got a call from the tourist office in Kyoto Station, and they have found me a Japanese teacher for only 500 yen (less than $5) a lesson for private lessons!

I think 2008 is going to be WAY better than 2007. Wanna join me in creating that one?

In 2008, I'm also going to have more visitors here from the States, see my sister get married, study massage in Thailand, tour around SouthEast Asia a little bit (and see some old friends along the way), return to the U.S., and meet some of my friends' kids who were born in the last year or so (I've counted 4 so far).

All in all, I have a good attitude. 2008 Rocks!