"We're Like Stars in the Sky."

Shadow's right. We were talking about which classes we were going to try to get rid of and which ones we were going to try to hold on to and he says, "This is ridiculous. We're talking about the past right now. They have ideas in their heads that are weeks ahead of us. They don't give us the most up-to-date information about what they plan. We're looking at old light."

We are like stars in the sky. A dime a dozen. There are so many of us, that it doesn't really matter how they treat us. It's times like these that I wonder why I want to stay so badly.

She took Roomie's key while we were in class. She had to run past my classroom to go ask Roomie for her key. "Roomie give me you key!"
Ro: "Huh?"
Ru: "I need your key right now! Right now!!"
Ro: "Um. Okay, why?"
Ru: "Right NOW! Grunter is waiting downstairs with your bed and they NEED to have your key!!!"

I understand why she did it. Both of them. Ruby wanted to get into the apartment and she knew that I wouldn't give her the key. So she went and used the urgency tactic on my roommate. If you keep speaking quickly and make something seem like an emergency, people will hand things over without thinking about it too much. As soon as I got out of class, my roommate told me what happened. I was on my way to Ruby's office before she finished telling me the whole story.

E: "Ruby? Roomie told me that you took her key." She had the nerve to look smug.
R: "Yes. Grunter has the beds to move around and she needed the key."
E: "I wanted to let you know that I am uncomfortable having people in the apartment when I am not there."
R: "Huh?!" At least she put the smuggery away.
E: "Yes. UNCOMFORTABLE. I have a lot of things in my home that are precious to me and I cannot relax when I don't know what is happening in my home."
R: "What? Precious things?"
E: "Yes. Precious and expensive. I cannot pack all of my personal items into a suitcase and bring them to work everyday, so I leave them in my home believing that they will be there when I return. I cannot risk these things being taken. I would prefer to have you tell me when you need to be in the apartment and I will try to accommodate you. If things need to be brought over, I would like it to be before or after work."
R: "Oh, you don't need to worry, they wouldn't take anything."

.... Is this woman serious? Cause the last time they were in there, they touched, moved and STOLE several items. 'Wouldn't take anything?' That's it. I'm finding a new school. This is bullsh*t. I don't even care about severance pay. I hope their school goes under.

Yes. That was the part in the conversation where I asked about the clothes that have been taken. Were they also in Grunter's car? No, she says. And then she begins to tell me about Narky's wrecking the car and how they don't have a car to bring these things over.

R: "Narky totaled his car. Did you know?!"
E: "Yes. You told me on Tuesday."
R: "Oh yes. So we don't have a way to bring them over right now."

She sounds a little more annoyed everytime I bring this up and it takes all I have not to say, "Sorry, is this a bother? Do you dislike hearing me ask you to return things? Am I making unreasonable requests? Cause, you know, I left them in my home. YOU took them. I don't feel that I inconvenienced you at all. You effed up. Now fix it."

This stress is getting to me. I feel like vacation was months ago and it was really less than two weeks. Time has slowed down. If it gets any slower, I'm doing the Fukoaka run. I don't care about starting over. I'll pick a real school this time.

Oh! And it gets better. They locked me into the school tonight.

They all came in and said goodnight, waved and did their little "so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu" routine and left me there. That's cool, even though I don't have an alarm key anymore, I still have the code to lock the door. At 11:30 I walked out to the door. It was locked. That's kind of weird. Why would they do that?

I open the door and the alarm goes off. There I am, standing in a completely empty building in front of a door looking for all the world like some waygook criminal. That's cute. Security is going to show up and I'll just have to explain that I work there.

...in English. Which they may or may not understand. While thinking about whether it would look more guilty to run or stick around the alarm stopped shrieking and I reflexively reached out and locked the door. I managed to walk calmly down the hallway and then ran down the stairs.

I almost died tripping over my flipfops, but I never stopped to consider taking them off. No time. I have some words for that woman. And not a single one of them is positive.

This morning's movie fun seems so long ago. California suggested Inception and since I was having the week from hell, I thought it might be good for me. Even though the movie started at 8am. It was definitely the highlight of my day. Cause the rest of the day blew.

There Has to Be a Word For This Fake Firing Nonsense.

That puts Tooly up at 2 to tie California, with Roomie trailing with one. She may have set the record for least amount of time wasted, but her numbers aren't good, yet. They opened with a heart crushing "You need to find a new school" and closed with an ambiguous "Okay, we think you need to improve these areas." I'm blown away at his incompetence when it comes to asking the "Am I still employed?" question.

"I don't want things to end sour here."

That's a shame, cause there's no other way for them to end. Look who you work for. This won't end well. I've witnessed one of these before. There's gonna be some shoving and yelling and the word "liar" is gonna be thrown around, too. Prepare yourself. It's gonna get ugly.

Just remember that none of this matters in the real world.



Oh yeah. And Narky got caught drunk driving.

He totaled his car on the way back from dinner and drinks at my apartment this weekend. I wondered how he got home. There were 2 empty soju bottles, 2 wine bottles, and an opened bottle of whiskey in my apartment when I got back yesterday.

So the cat's out of the bag. Ruby knows about their little dinner party this past weekend.

I would be surprised if my roommate completed her contract.

He's fine. No worries. His car is another story. I wonder what he hit...

Consequently, he doesn't remember most of Saturday night. I don't know if it's the car accident or the alcohol, but that's gonna make for one hella awkward conversation when he meets up with my roomie again.

These Canadian chicks and their drama. Man. Renee wasn't like this...

I Touched Kamenashi Kazuya!!

I really had no idea what I was doing. Pretty much from Step 1: Find Tickets. I knew I wanted to see KAT-TUN in concert the second I heard they were touring Asia. Okay. Maybe it was a few minutes later. But it was definitely the second I remembered that Korea is in Asia.

After a half hour of research I found that they were playing Seoul on August 6 and 7. The sixth was out. The concert was supposed to start before I even get out of class. But the 7th I can do. This led to my 3 hour effort to buy my ticket which forced me to beg Christina to help me navigate the English version of G-Market (a Korean e-shopping site) which was the only place to buy KAT-TUN tickets.

The site required Windows, so thank you Cali. It wouldn't accept my Korean check card, but eventually registered my Visa. It really is everywhere you wanna be. Mission 2: Buy Ticket. Check.

The end result of this transaction was an e-voucher. What does that mean? "You have a ticket. It's good. Yeah it worked," says Christina. Great. Oh that's right, I don't have a printer. Christina to the rescue yet again. She and MJ met me at the bus station last night to hand over the printed e-voucher that was supposed to get me in.

"So this will work? I can see KAT-TUN in concert?"
"Mm. Yes. Probably."

Probably? No way to know until I try right? Right.

I had already booked a place for myself at the hostel (by myself) and all I had to do was find a cab to get me there at 4am. I was set. The cab driver didn't really know where he was going and it was a torrential downpour, but, amazingly, I recognized where we were going and was able to help for the last 5 minutes of the journey. (I know, Mom. How did I manage that when I can't even find my way home from West Chester? When was the last time KAT-TUN played in McMurray?)

Mission 3: Get to Seoul. Accomplished.

The next morning I had to figure out where this concert would be and make sure that I was on the right #5 metro. It's one of these cooky splitting lines and it was due to split right near the end of my trip.

Luck was on my side and I ended up being on the right one. I followed what I assumed were a half dozen other KAT-TUN fans and started walking around Olympic Park. I got distracted by this giant muscled Korean man and must have stopped to stare for a considerable amount of time, because I lost the girls I was trailing. Not my fault. This short man looked like he could bend a car in half. It was crazy weird. It was like someone pushed down on Arnold's head and made this shorter wider Korean version of the terminator.

Not gonna panic. I'll just follow more girls. I noticed that everyone had these hand fans with the boys' faces on them. They must have found the entrance and were just killing time. This is where it gets tricky. People were walking towards me with concert paraphernalia and I thought it meant I had to turn around. Except I saw the same thing when I turned around. Which direction did they get this stuff? Am I following a bunch of girls coming from the hall and just walking around to kill time? Am I walking with the ones who are done killing time? I rock paper scissored myself and chose to turn right at the monster body builder. I rounded the corner and saw the stand where everyone was buying these hand fans. I chose Kame and Koki. Then I walked over to stand in the line.

It looked like 2 lines were forming, one considerably shorter than the other. I thought those people were probably special, so I went ahead and stayed in the long line. I've gotten really good at standing in the wrong line, so I tried to listen for any instructions that were being announced. None in English, of course. Everyone in my line had a ticket and I was standing there- for the first time in 7 months, the only foreigner in sight- with my e-voucher. This was the first time since I escaped the airport that first day we arrived that I have been able to look around and see absolutely no foreigners. Unlucky. The girl behind me in line was trying to help, but she obviously wasn't that big into studying those mandatory English classes that the public schools have.

I pointed to the short line. "Moh ya?" (What's that?)
"Stand." Okay. So these people have to stand. Not me. I definitely bought a seat ticket.
Then I pointed to our line. "Maybe floor and stand." ... What? Oh. Stands. Those must be the seated tickets in the upper levels. I'm in one of those tiers... I think...

Maybe it's time to find an official. So I walked up to a security man shouting instructions into a megaphone. He didn't speak any English, but he was nice enough to find another security girl to help. She also didn't speak any English, but now it was her turn to call over another guard to help. This second chick shouted back "Happy Box!" Okay. So she doesn't speak English either. But instead of sharing in my Blank Stare, the other two seemed relieved. Oh they don't understand...

Nope. This time it was me. They pointed over my shoulder and what should I see when I turn around? A ticket window called, you guessed it, Happy Box. Mission 4: Find Concert , was easy compared to the task ahead of me. Now's the moment of truth. What is this e-voucher really worth? I handed them my e-voucher.


And received a ticket!!! I was all set to see KAT-TUN in concert!!!

Back into the line. We were handed silver bags to place all of our electronics in and stood there for a little while longer. They're really serious about this no camera rule. So no pictures, no matter how close I get. And Still not a foreigner in sight.

Then these chicks started walking by and handing out free stuff- small hand fans with all the boys on them, and stickers. Then this concert official walked by with goody bags. She would stop every ten people or so to explain the instructions regarding the glow stick and paper airplane inside. I happened to be person #10. She was halfway through the first sentence when she noticed my blank stare. I could read her thoughts on her face. Crap! Waygookin!!

So it was another series of 3 Koreans trying to help the waygookin. Crazy enough, the Third Korean from before, the "Happy Box!" chick was the third girl this time, too, and she shouts "Yeong Euh!" (English) and points to the paper. No worries. English instructions.

I get inside and stare around. Somehow I thought the adventure would end once I got inside, but it doesn't. It's not any better inside. Where am I supposed to go? Which of these numbers is the seat and which is the section? I got to pick my seat online, but all I knew was that I was in the front row of the top tier. So I headed to the closest security girl to figure it out.

Wouldn't you know it, it was the Third Korean! She must have realized that there was no way I was going to be able to help myself for any of this, so she walked me all the way to my seat and didn't leave until I was actually sitting down. What would I have done without her?

So I'm in Section 38, Row 1, Seat 14. Kinda far from the stage in relation to the rest of the audience, but I'm mostly center and the place really isn't all that big to begin with. So even from the top tier I can still tell what's happening on the main stage.

The show begins and they're not even on the main stage, they're on this moving stage thing that gets pretty close. I was about 10 feet away from the boys singing songs that I actually knew the words to and it was awesome!! What could be better than this??

Well. About halfway through, the boys disappear and the other band, KisMyFt2 comes out to dance around. Meh. Not a big KMF2 fan, but all of a sudden the girls on both ends start screaming. Wow. Someone really loves KMF2...

No. They were screaming at KAT-TUN. The boys were on rolling platforms coming down the aisle that runs right in front of my seat. I'm the front row! I'm going to be less than 2 feet from KAT-TUN!

Koki and Junnosuke were coming towards me from the left while Nakamaru, Ueda and Kame were on the other side of the hall. They were slapping hands and shaking hands and alternating between the front row on the third floor and the last row of the second floor.

I missed Junnosuke because he switched sides just before our section. No biggie. I don't even like Junnosuke. Then the girls on the other side grabbed hold of Koki's sleeve and he missed us while he was trying to free his arm from the grip of rabid fans. That's what you get for wearing long sleeves at a concert dumdum. (By the end of this his left sleeve would be more than a foot longer than the right. It had a few holes in it, too. Guess he won't be finishing the tour with that shirt.)

I couldn't believe it! So close and yet I missed them. I was less than 2 feet from KAT-TUN and I missed my opportunity. The boys met the other three in the middle of the aisle and -to my amazement- switched platforms. The other three were headed my way!

I missed Ueda because he lifted his hand to shake off the girl two people down and missed me and both girls on my sides. Nakamaru lifted his hand right in front of me and started waving to the crowd! Put your hand down dumdum! No one wants to wave to you!

There's only one left. Kame's the real deal. The only one who matters. I go through phases with the other 4 ( Wait. Not Junnosuke) but Kame is always my favorite. Please Please let him be on my side.

He's headed straight for me, he lifts his hand... and misses the girl to my right. I couldn't believe what sh*t luck. But I kept my hand in the air.

He delivered one monster high five. I couldn't believe it when I looked up and saw him wink. I touched Kame!! Unreal! Un. Real.

And yes, ladies. His hands were perfect. Everything else was awesome, too, the fireworks, the acrobatics, the double encore, the glowsticks, the flying airplanes bidding farewell to KAT-TUN. But this took the cake. I had one of the luckiest seats in the house. I'm picking section 38, row 1, seat 14 for every concert. And there will be more. This time, I might even bring someone else with me. Prob Christina. I couldn't understand it when KAT-TUN started butchering the Korean they had tried to learn before the show.

And still no waygook in sight. A perfect evening. Hands down. Totally awesome.

The luck continued and I managed to catch the last metro home and didn't have to fork over 20,000w for a cab.

I ended the day with all kinds of souvenirs, CDs, stickers and a big a** poster. And I did it almost all by myself. Well... without the help of English anyways.

I'm totally going to do another concert. I wonder when Arashi does Asia next...

'Cause Korea's in Asia. And I've got this concert thing figured out. Front Row, Top Tier, Middle. That's the way.

Part Two.

No. I did not quit my job. The conversation was actually quite comical.

"Umm, Ruby? Some stuff was missing from my apartment when I got back..."
"Did Roomie take it?!"

...No. Where would she take it...? She lives here. It's definitely not in her room. That's the problem. That's where I left it.

"Maybe they were recycled."

"... Can we check?"

Yes. Some of them were recycled. I have been told that the rest will be returned to me, but that'll have to wait til monday. I'm heading to Seoul tonight to put as much distance between me and these people as I can.

"Oh we should have waited for you to get back, before we moved her in."

"Yeah. You really should have."

Yes, Mom. I said it. It wasn't an 'I was like~.' That right there is a direct quote. ivleague talks to them however he wants and they've never stolen from them.

They're so ridiculous.

Part One.

Alright. Normally I'm opposed to having two entries on the same day (how much can possibly happen in one day? Why leave the audience hanging?), but today might be my last day at New School. I'm going in to work today to confront my boss about the abduction of my clothes and personal effects and about their nonchalant invasion of my privacy.

I'm also going to pose some questions about the legality of my continued employment. I do not hold a visa for a school for which I work, nor do I have a residency card for a home where I live. I'm done with this.

They say that these legal infractions can lead to detainment or deportation.

Neither of those sound appealing. If I quit, I'll be blacklisting this school. I can still save others.

One Day and this Chick Is Already Setting Records.

Being fake-fired on your first day is quite a feat. No other teacher can claim such a thing. She's putting California to shame. She'd be beating Miss Honey too, except Miss Honey was REAL fired.

Looks like we have a new Tooly. New people usually get dumped on. I've now witnessed two real firings and four fake firings. I hope I never lose count. Being fired doesn't really mean anything here.

Ruby hasn't actually fake fired anyone. She has had Grunter do it twice for Cali and once for Roomie and she had Mr. Kim do it to Tooly. I bet that's another one of her mind games. Let other people do the firing so that she can come in and save the day. Make everyone think that she is trying to look out for them.

Now that I think about it, she hasn't real fired anyone either. That was Grunter. She's a monster.

I know it sucks for my new roomie, but I think this is funny as hell. Who gets fired and re-hired before they've even taught one class? That's what you get for working on the weekend. Don't do it. It'll only bite you in the end.

So I took her to Dasarong to celebrate her first fake firing. I felt bad. It's going to happen at least one more time before they get used to her. And, hell, it'll prob happen again after that. Look at Cali.

She's alright. Prob not a spy, but I doubt she'll make it to the end of her contract. But, hey, I'd be surprised if any of us did.

She likes the Asian boys, too. Maybe this roommate thing will be alright.

She'll prob be fired real soon anyways.

Ummm... Whose Shoes Are Those?

1pm

There is someone in my apartment. After traveling for more than 24 hours, all I wanted to do was head home, shower, unpack and sleep. But that didn't work out.

I hid the key in the apartment among my things and yet there is still someone else living here. I guess Ruby and Grunter had the landlord let them in while they pawed through my stuff to find the key and then handed that over to new girl so that she could move into my home and touch everything.

And then they stole my microwave!! "Oh Erin doesn't use this, so we're going to take it."

In fact, Erin does.

It's official. I'm going to be choosing another school for my next year in Korea. I can't live in a place where there's no security or privacy. I want a door code. I want to be able to lock them out when I'm not here. I want a boss that doesn't touch my things.

AND THEY GAVE HER A WELCOMING GIFT! They wouldn't even feed us and they gave her a bottle of red wine. That she is keeping in the fridge! You don't chill those! Her stuff is in all of the wrong places. Her cosmetics are on the toilet paper shelf and her food is on every shelf. What am I going to do?!

Throw her under the bus!!!

No. I need to be rational about this. I need to remember that she is coming off jet-lag and is new to this country. She doesn't know how I do things. I need to learn to adjust to living with someone else again. I need to understand that I won't always have my own way. I need to realize that changing my routine is uncomfortable but necessary.

What I need is a nap.

And my microwave back. I'm going to fix that tomorrow.

--------
6pm
This isn't even a post that I can finish mid day. It's driving me crazy. Not her, exactly, but not getting to have the apartment to myself for one last day. I can't stand this sharing. I am never going to be alone again. No more singing and dancing as I make dinner. No more talking to myself. No more playing whatever music I want whenever I want it. No more sleep uninterrupted. No more storing things in the kitchen closet. No more space in the fridge or pantry. No more pig free home. No more privacy.

It's terrible to think this already, and it's probably the fact that I haven't slept yet, but I want her to get fired. Now. I don't want her crowding my living room. I don't care that her room is small. Narky helped her "clean" the apartment. They swept and mopped. And rearranged the living room. I put it back. I cleaned before I left. It was sparkling.

If they were gonna clean, they should've started with the laundry room. It's a nightmare.

I don't want to share. I don't want to talk. I don't like that Kids' Team are nicer to her. I don't like that no one has yelled at her yet. What if they never do? What if she never gets fired? What if this is my life for the next 5 months? What if I never have this apartment to myself again?

What if she's a spy?

-------
6:30pm
And my Mac charger just blew out. I'm working on my last two hours of battery power. August is gonna suck. I can tell.