Going to Japan (Maybe)

Two days ago, we received news that B has been invited to Japan for the summer by a university in Tokyo. They will be paying his travel costs and giving him a stipend, although we don't know how much it is yet. He is just supposed to do his research in a rather vague way. B is very excited and happy about this, because he has always wanted to go to Japan and this is really the perfect way to do that. It is also very flattering, as he didn't even need to apply; rather, they simply emailed him and asked him to go out of the blue. Since up to that point we had no idea what to do about the lack of money/employment over the summer, this was really perfect timing. So B will definitely be going to Japan, probably in early July. But the question, will I be going too?

Really the answer to this question depends on: 1. how much the stipend is (because we are broke and Japan is expensive, so if it's small, I can't afford to go) and 2. if I get a job before July (because if I do, it makes more sense to stay here and work, since then I will be set until we go to Singapore). But also I felt very hesitant about going, since B will be busy working and I worried that he didn't want me to come. But he spent several hours reassuring me this morning, so I felt a little bit better. So if 1 is OK, and 2 does not happen, then I will be going to Japan for three months! which is quite exciting. There are lots of things I'd like to see there. But nothing is clear yet, so I will have to wait and see.

On another note: today I got up at 9:30, tidied the kitchen, played Farmville and woke B up with coffee at 10:15. Then we had breakfast. Next B wanted me to help him write emails (it is very rare that he can write them without me sitting next to him helping) but I got upset about Japan as one of the emails required a decision be made about me going or not. So B spent 1-2 hours consoling/reassuring me. Then we returned to emailing and finished by 2. Then we went to the gym (until 5:30 or 6), returned home on the bus, B made dinner (pasta with garbanzo bean, tomato and basil sauce, which was delicious), I tidied up, and at 8 we left for the coffeehouse. We went to B&B cafe, which is the new favorite.

I finished two books there, one a novel about police conducting an investigation in the remote, hot mountains of Morocco among the Berber peasants (not a mystery though: it was modern literature), and the other short stories by ETA Hoffmann. He is so good; it is such a pity that he is not known (especially because that means most of his works aren't available in English). I love the humor and fantastic imagination in his stories (the last one in the book concerned an homunculus carrot, the gnome prince of vegetables, who wished to marry the pretty, chubby country girl Anneken, who was devoted to her kitchen garden. Her father was an eccentric astronomer who spent all his time in a stone tower reading books about strange religions and watching the stars, communicating with the household via speaking tube.)

Going to the gym frequently is starting to make a difference: my clothes fit better and I think I have more energy. Also, I now weigh 135 pounds (before I weighed approx. 140) but since weight fluctuates a bit, this doesn't seem very significant. Unfortunately, my stomach is broken. I haven't really been drinking coffee (though I had a tiny amount this morning) or alcohol or eating spicy food, but nonetheless it hurts me quite a bit. I cough often and vomit occasionally. It is discouraging. B suggests I make a food diary and track my eating and drinking habits to see if there are any patterns I can change. This seems sensible and I am starting it today.

Tomorrow my plans are: 1. go to the gym; 2. begin reading my book about courtesans in 19th century Shanghai; 3. look/apply for jobs for 2 hours; 4. clean the bathroom.