Oct 232012
 

Yesterday was kind of a blur, but I still remember what I was doing.

I slept in until 8:30, ate breakfast with my SO’s folks, and set out for Book Off at around 10 a.m. I probably spent two hours there, just looking at books. All kinds of books. I was looking for some inexpensive light novels, some books about business etiquette, maybe some manga, anything, really, that was cheap and interesting.

I found four books on business manners, and a textbook that teaches business Japanese through role playing. That last one was a bit pricey, but it looks really interesting. The other books were cheap– $9 or so. Considering I’d usually pay three times as much, it was a bargain.

I carried my backpack with me for carrying any books I bought. I learned that in Japan. Backpacks rule for carrying heavy stuff, just make sure they don’t open up on you. Mine did that in Book Off. That was slightly embarrassing.

The Manhattan Book Off has a pretty good selection, but don’t expect to find that obscure book you’ve been searching for there.

Done with Book Off, I walked over to Kinokuniya again, because I didn’t get to spend as much time there as I wanted to yesterday. I looked at some more business books, and wound up getting a good book on keigo by Kotoba no Oji-san (sorry, that’s I how I know him), a book on Embarrassing Japanese (things people say in Japanese that are just bad Japanese, according to the authors), a book of business e-mail expressions, and a book on how to write proper business letters.

I also found a novel to read for later.

While I was in the basement, I found their stationery store. I love Japanese stationery stores. There’s so much interesting stuff to look at, I could easily lose track of time there. I didn’t. But I did find a good brush roll for my calligraphy brushes. The one I have is getting a little too full of brushes, and I picked up 500 sheets of A4 copy/printer paper, so I can send of A4 stuff if I need to. (I’ve been looking for that!)

A lot of the stuff I went to the trouble to buy in Japan, I could have just bought at Kinokuniya.

That made me want to facepalm a bit.

Okay, a lot.

But at least now I know where to get all of this stuff. I wish they had an online stationery store. That would be great.

HOT!

I headed back to the apartment, because I needed to hit the road soon, but I decided to stop off at Frank’s Pizza on 23rd Street to get a bite. Frank’s has good, fast cheese pizza, New York style, which is my favorite. It’s what I grew up on.

Frank’s pizza is great, but I burned the hell out of my tongue. I should have been more patient and given it a chance to cool, but I felt like I was in a hurry, so I roasted my tongue pretty good.

Pain aside, that was good pizza. But it’s hot.

I also had a genuine New York Experience. A guy walked into the store, which is kind of small to begin with, and started barking and howling like a dog. No idea why. That’s just New York for you.

With a lot of help, I got my car loaded up and I left the apartment building at around 3:30 p.m. If I didn’t stop for anything, I might make it home by 12:30. I got an e-mail from one potential employer who was interested in me, and wanted my English resume as soon as possible, so I didn’t want to spend the night on the road.

The traffic around the Holland Tunnel was heavy, so I didn’t get to the Turnpike until 4:30. I had to skip Mitsuwa. Sorry Sis, I’ll buy it online for you.

Traffic was pretty smooth all the way to Baltimore. I saw another photo speed zone, and saw the camera catch a guy ahead of me, so I made sure I pegged it at 55. I don’t want a ticket.

It’s a long drive to NC from NYC. While I was in Virginia, I noticed that at some point, those three yellow lights on the dashboard finally went out. So whatever it was either fixed itself or fell off of the car.

I got home around 1:30 a.m., and got unpacked by about 3.

I slept like a log after that.

All in all, it was a very good trip, and very productive. I’ll have to wait and see how it pans out with the various companies.

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