Great to see you again!

The concept of an entire nation having a designated vacation period is both advantageous and inconvenient all at the same time. While summer vacation can be the most expensive time to travel and plan trips, it's also reassuring that you'll have the opportunity to see anyone else in Japan since they are on holiday too. I was able to re-unite with the first two people I had met with at Osaka International back in May (Kimiko & Nick) since they decided to come out to the Tokyo area and visit.

Kimiko's out in Hiroshima and Nick's over in Nagano; we initially trained together for the first week way back in May during our stay in Okayama. They had planned a Fuji climb over summer vacation but since I had already gone recently there was no way in hell I was getting anywhere near the mountain. After they finished, I offered them to stay with me for a few days, and so they had the opportunity to hang out with me here in the Tokyo area.

The past few days have been kinda blurry, mainly because we've been pulling all nighters and waking up mid-afternoon, only to get ready to go out again for the night. We had back-to-back nights of overnight karaoke and also hung out in Shimokitazawa for some awesome okonomiyaki and a few beers and a very interesting bar. For the two nights they were here I think we only amassed eight or so hours of sleep.

It was also nice just having someone to vent too. While Kyle's been an emotional punching bag for me at times he doesn't really know what **** employees go through at our schools. Having Kimiko here was really nice since she's pretty much in the same working situation as me.. lockdown manager and handfuls of work to do at all times of the busines day. Although complaining to one another about our problems isn't really a solution, it certainly made us feel better!