Tonight is probably, baring a miracle tomorrow, that i’ll have internet at least until I head into work on Monday. I’m collecting the keys to my new place tomorrow and along with that moving most of my stuff in.

I can’t really imagine what it’d be like living there with furniture and having settled down but I can envision the first few weeks being quite tough. As there is absolutely no furniture except a number of left electrical appliances I haven’t decided whether to stay there tomorrow night or wait until at least my futon arrives on Sunday. My grandparents were slightly paranoid that I wouldn’t be there to pick it up on Saturday so decided that Sunday would be the safer option…..despite the fact I’m picking up the keys on Saturday morning.

Anyway, I can just about picture the apartment furniture-less with just the 1 futon spread out in my room for the first couple of days. Monday, my brother moves his stuff in but the lounge will still have nothing. There is a counter/kitchen table but no chairs, no crockery, no kitchen utensils…

Having no internet will also make it somewhat difficult to order furniture online. I may have to resort to late night shifts at the office to take advantage of the net there….hopefully the sites won’t be blocked.

It’s all a major source of stress, which I’ve been trying to limit recently for various reasons.

The inset is the floor plan of the flat. I’m not sure whether it’s accurately to scale but the J means “jo-” (畳) and is a traditional measurement for room size. The alternate reading of the Kanji is “tatami”, from which you can probably guess the history. The dimensions varied from region to region but I think they’re standardised to 1.65m x 0.75m for property development.

There’s a whole range of traditional Japanese measurements, which can still be occasionally seen in use today, much like the Imperial measurements of the UK. One system still in use even by government officials is the traditional era names in place of the de-facto common era counting. Anyway, enough about that.

Tomorrow is the big move to Tokyo. I can’t 100% say that I’m looking forward to it; there is a small feeling of unease, but it’s definitely going to be a big move!

Anyway, I’ll try and post some pics up as soon as I have internet set up there…if not before, somehow…

I’m back from Peru. Actually, I’ve been back since Sunday morning, and technically I left Peru on Friday. I have so many stories to tell you about my time in Peru but as I don’t really know where to begin, I’ll start somewhere completely different.

The first time I sat in front of my computer when I got back, I felt extremely odd. I basically hadn’t really used it since pre-Vegas, with the few days prior to Peru not really making much impact. It was strange knowing that the only thing that I really needed to do was check my email, and even that wasn’t essential. I’m no longer a student, so all emails from the department aren’t important, and I’m not yet employed so there won’t really be anything there. When I find a spare moment from all the unpacking and packing I’ve been doing, I’ve found that there’s still a massive chunk of time that previously I won’t while away in front of the computer. Now, I’ve rediscovered the joy of reading. Books.

Books are a wonderful thing. I’ve pretty much read 3 novels in the past month, which I probably more than the last year as a whole. I mean, the initial reason was to pass the time on the plane and at the airport – there was a hell a lot of hours spent at airports – but now I seem to read whenever I can’t find something to do on my computer. I’m not sure how long it’ll last, the whole reading thing, but it’s a nice alternative to wasting away the hours watching tv eps on my comp. Hmm.

Another thing I’ve found is that my hair has barely grown since I left for Peru and probably Vegas. My hair grows at a phenomenal rate. Ok, maybe not phenomenal, but pretty quickly so I usually have to get it cut pretty often to keep it neat. Anyway, I did notice the lack of growth during my travels but thinking about it now, I think it’s pretty much down to me being totally stress free. It’s amazing.

Other things I’ve noticed is that tanning really does improve the skin. So smooth and lovely! But yes, even if I haven’t finished my pursuit of happiness, for the time being, I’m content with being free of any major stresses. There are still a couple of things on my mind like this whole moving to Japan thing but it’s fine.

Anyway, Peru? Peru was fantastic. Once you get away from the polluted, busy, stinky, dirty capital of Lima and head out to the hills, it’s just wonderful. Highlights include the Lares Hike, the high-altitude football and the comic moments we had with our tour group. I’m sure I’ll be mentioning these at some point. For now, I’ll leave you to peruse over the photos.