I've been kind of stumped as to what I ought to do with the second living room in my house, and so far I've just kept it closed off as a kind of empty storage room. But now that I've been here 8 months (woah...) I'm really sick of the set up in my house. I hate not having a table to sit and work at. The one decent sized table in the house is in the kitchen. Back when I moved in, I tried to bring it into the living room to use as a desk, but it was too big and I couldn't get it out of the kitchen. So it kind of became a counter top for me to pile all my crap on. I'd eat all my meals at the little table on the floor in the living room, I'd do all my school work (if I had any) at the table in the living room. But the problem is that the little table on the floor is so comfortable, and I can't focus sitting there. If I'm going to be doing something where I have to focus, like working, or writing, or studying Japanese, I have to be sitting at a real table in a real chair. So, I'm redecorating! I cleaned off my kitchen table and moved it so I can actually sit at it, and that's where I'm going to eat my meals. I also took down the hideous curtains that hung in the kitchen, and I'm going to get some nice new ones. While I was sick a few weeks ago, someone came to clean up my garden. There was a little bamboo grove of sorts at the back of my house, which partially obscured the view. But the person who cleaned the garden ripped out the bamboo. So now the back of the house is exposed to the view of the houses across the rice paddy. I've been trying to open the screens more, because one of the things I love about spring is throwing open the windows and letting the natural light in. My house is so traditional, it's anything but light and airy, which is a bummer. But I'm working on it.
I've been planning on redecorating for a while, but I'm finally getting it done. I went to the home goods store Nanba to buy a desk. I actually ordered one, but then Caitlin took me to this used goods store, and there were all these really nice desks and things for WAY cheaper, so I cancelled my order at Nanba and I'm going to go get a desk there. I bought a beautiful painting of a woman wearing a kimono, apparently its an original painting (by a local or what, I don't know) but it looks old, the way the picture was mounted was not modern looking, and the frame and everything is really weathered. I hung it over where the desk is going to go.
This used store (recycle store, its called) is AMAZING. Caitlin's been talking about it for ages, but I kind of got the wrong impression of it, and didn't realize how awesome it is. It's a huge warehouse-like place, piled to the ceiling with second hand stuff. There are tables, chairs, desks, lamps, dishes and glasses of every kind, jewelry, artwork, movies, CDs, pillows, exercise equipment, mirrors, wardrobes, so much stuff and I can't even think what else, but I'll put it this way: a child with an active imagination would have the time of their life in this store.
This has been my spring break. I come to work at 8 (or a little after, since no one's really there and there's no morning staff meeting) and I'm only supposed to stay until noon, but I've been staying until usually 2 or 3, sometimes till 4 or 5, because I'm trying to get work done. Also I'm trying to build some good credit at school by putting in the time to show that I'm not one of those ALTs who just wants to jet off and get away from school.
Anyway, I'll post pictures of the room as soon as it's finished. Which will hopefully be soon. Right now, I'm in that phase where you start cleaning and making improvements at home, but it gets way messier before it gets better. But I'm trying not to let it bug me. It's going to be so much better once I get everything in order.
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