Gadgets, Guzen and Good Eats

Gadgets:
Today I went to Shiz after work to find out about getting an iPhone. I've been thinking about it for ages, but never has the incentive been greater to switch from Docomo to Softbank. Travis and Pin both have Softbank and they have a White Plan which allows free calls to between members before 9pm, a rarity in Japan, so it would already be worth it for me. Now however, they just began a campaign where it's free with a two-year contract.

I told Travis and he gave me a scare when it seemed like he would get one before me, which pushed me past my anxiety about talking to them in Japanese. It was easier than I expected and they were surprisingly friendly and not pushy about getting me to stay with Docomo. When I said I wanted to switch to Softbank, the customer service rep nodded knowingly and guessed, iPhone?

All I needed was to show them my gaijin card, they typed some info in, and printed off a slip of paper for me to show Softbank. Turns out, I could keep the same number though I do have to change emails, and I could continue to use my phone until I got my new contract set up. Pretty sweet.

I went to Softbank, but it was a bust b/c I didn't have my gaijin card and bank passbook AND passport AND hanko (personal seal). So I've got to go back when I have all of that with me, but it doesn't seem too difficult.

Guzen:
I didn't go alone though. I had company, Chaz aka @GuzenMediaJapan on Twitter. It was funny how I met him. He was a first for me. We began following one another on Twitter because we were both Shizuoka ALTs and had messaged a bit, but nothing significant.

Then last November, while I was attending a skit contest at a nearby university, one of the ALTs there that I didn't recognize came up to me and asked, "Hey, do you teach in Kambara?" "Uh, yes..." "Are you on Twitter?" Again, "Uh, yes..." "Oh, I'm Chaz! Guzen?" "Oh, hi! Nice to finally meet you in person!" All the while thinking, Wow my first real-life Twitter meet-up. This is kinda cool. And really nerdy.

Anyway, after that, we had exchanged keitai emails and messaged a bit more frequently, but still nothing too big. Today though, none of my usual Zu (Shimizu) Crew could meet up for dinner, and on a whim, I asked him if he was free this evening. He was, so we met up and got acquainted in person.

Good Eats:
Stacey ended up opting out of soccer so she caught up with us at the Thai restaurant (the REAL Thai place). At first, I didn't know what to tell her about Chaz, or what he'd be like, but we all ended up having a good time. Apparently he was friends with a bunch of Filipinos back in VA, and LOVES Hawaii so we had those two things in common with him. Plus, he regaled us with stories from his 13 years of teaching in Japan, another shared bond. It was impressive to see how confident he is in himself and his goals as an English teacher. Maybe if I stayed another 10 years, I might be a bit like that. Not much to say about dinner despite the title though, other than it was excellent as always and now I'm nearly unpleasantly full.

The one thing I realized after the evening though: I've been spending a lot of time with the same people, the same friends. Not that I don't love them, or hanging out with them or Travis, but for the last 2 months, I've ONLY been out with them. I haven't really seen my other friends. Not other ALTs, not my J-friends. I've got to fix that. So maybe the last G in my title should be 'Goals' instead.