Let's let 2011 be the first year since 2005 that I am in one place

So, I have officially declared to my Board of Education my intent to stay in Ojiya a second year. This means I will be here until August 2012. While there is of course the possibility of recontracting for a third, fourth, or even fifth years, let me also state for the record that I need need need to move to a big city at that time.... I decided to stay because I am just settling into my job, my routine, my life in the countryside, and it has been growing on me a lot, yet I know I will be more than ready to face big city life at that point.

This decision is coming with a few changes. For one, I am getting a smart phone. Not an iphone; an iphone seems like what I will get when I move back to the states for good. I am getting an Android phone (the actual phone is called IS03, I think it's a Japan-only phone) and actually I should be able to pick it up tomorrow! Slightly more significantly, I am going to lease a car. I'll talk more about this once I actually have it (starting from next week) and have driven for a bit. I am really excited though, as it will really open up all the possibilities for me of living in Niigata prefecture.

This weekend I am going to Osaka for a trip I have been planning since early November at least. I am staying with my friend Yuri from UCLA for a sweet concert, a double bill of the bands Blonde Redhead and Deerhunter, and I will also meet up with my friend Christina from Whitman (and potentially go to the Osaka Pokemon Center??? which should be exactly what it sounds like). I will take a night bus back on Sunday night and get in Monday morning in time to go directly to the two-day Niigata JET conference in Niigata City.......... I anticipate drinking excessive amounts of coffee throughout the day on Monday to stay awake, and again on Tuesday, because of course I can't miss out on the all-JET party Monday night?

Thinking about 2011 in broader terms..... I will need to take, and pass, my Japanese license test sometime before summer break. I am still studying for, and plan to take, the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in late June/July. I am going to Spain (!!!!!!!) to visit my friend Katie from high school over Golden Week the first week in May. My aunt and uncle are randomly coming to Japan in March, and I will see them for two days in Tokyo. And of course, I am planning on going to America for three-four weeks over summer break. Oh, also, the musical is still happening, and will be happening for the rest of winter and spring.