Japan and Japanese – phonakins

Happy New Year?

So, I started drafting a year in review for 2022, but then shit happened and now it’s Jan 5, so moving right along. I spent new years eve with my partner Bruce and my sister Jennie. I had planned to do that anyway, but it was kinda enforced after she took a deliberate overdose of paracetamol a few days before, had a hospital stay, and was discharged into my care. What a way to end and start the year, but I guess it’s good it wasn’t me this time and I’m in a place mentally where I can look after her to some extent, even if I’ve spent the afternoon asleep and hiding from the world to recover my spoons from over-stimulation, too much responsibility, and there just being too much noise. But I know what I needed and took this afternoon for that. So I can get back to it when I’m next needed, or maybe just take tomorrow to do housework around here and go pick up the book I have on hold at the library.

I also have started back into Japanese practice. I’m back to doing it daily through Duolingo and streaming it live to my Twitch so that I practice my pronunciations and make it less of a point and click game. I also have my new PC that Bruce built me over the last few months, the keyboard and mouse I won and new Logitech headset a twitter follower bought off my Throne Wishlist for Xmas!

As much as I didn’t wanna go into this year fighting, here we are. Bring it on!

I made it! I Turned Forty!

OMG how did I make it through my 30s? It really wasn’t looking too optimistic there for awhile.

So, here’s a birthday photo dump, and some rambling and thought and whatever it may be.

Firstly, I got some AMAZING new cat ears handmade, hand felted, by Suzanne aka Satan Herself. She’s a wonderful Twitter friend who is trying to get herself out of the clutches of Centrelink by starting a felting art business, making all sorts of clothing and bits and pieces and SHOES and HATS and cat ears now. These are her prototype ears, and I LOVE them and will pimp them to death when she gets her shop set up!

a woman with purple hair, cat ears and glasses holding a glass of sparkling wine. She has a purple dress with chickens

I drank this lovely de-alcoholised Brown Brothers Prosecco I’d purchased from Sans Drinks for election night (but the order arrived a week after!). Lovely and light on the tongue, didn’t interfere with the Antabuse tablets either 🙂 Party!

Speaking of Antabuse, I stuck to my regular Friday morning routine, collecting OzHarvest fresh fruit and veg and assorted breads from the food bank to share with my sister – I’m glad I can eat gluten these days! There was also a bag of pies and sandwiches and the like. More importantly though, I’ve not had alcohol since Feb 2021, so I’m on a 17 month streak, with some good sober time over the last three and a half years. It feels good, and sobriety is working well for me. I get to be more useful and reliable and present and so on. It’s great. I have to say I’m looking forward to life and things again. Even without “real” red wine.

Bruce and I went to dinner at Mizumi (which I now know means “Lake”) here in Toronto. We ordered the usual takoyaki, and went for the Mizumi sashimi platter. OMG that was amazing! Fresh and tasty and noms. Only problem was that I prefer my sashimi after it’s warmed up a little, and this came as a ice basket as you’ll see in the photo. But AMAZING nonetheless.

How good is that?

(yes, I booked under Sienna, yes it’s because I phoned up and couldn’t be bothered correcting her when she said it back to me. Often get Sienna)

Another birthday present I got was the new phone I’ve been using for a month now. The Xiaomi 11 Lite 5GNE (that’s a lot of terms). Bruce ordered it for me at a super awesome price and I’ve been getting used to it, but here’s the first night mode photo I’ve taken because I’m slack and didn’t use the function til he nagged me the other night:

The beauty of Toronto Boulevarde by night…

So I had a lovely birthday, out in the real world. Plus, I also had a bit of a party on my Animal Crossing island!

My friend code for switch is SW-0541-2956-7407. Add me and come to my next shindig!

Saturday was my birthday party – lollies and cake and kids in the backyard 🙂 Such fun! Got a new Fitbit from my parents, the old one had a crack screen after 7 years, it was time. Spent the last of a few giftcards I had at woolies on lollies hehe

Still working our way through the cake – a $30 buy from Costco, with fluffy chocolate and rainbow icing!

Some of you internet sweethearts have spoiled me too with items from my wishlist and gift cards and birthday money through PayPal and buymeacoffee. Thank you so very much! I got the bread knife I needed and Diet Coke is always appreciated.

I have some onesies on the way from onesies downunder and a Shein order full of Care Bears stuff!!!

Thank you all for celebrating with me 💜

I am going to Japan

When, who with and how long it’ll take me to save are all a mystery, but I do declare, I will be going to Japan.

Screenshot form a bank app for an empty bank account

I am turning 40 in July, so I won’t declare I’ll be going for my fortieth. But sometime between 40 and 45. I have opened a separate saving account even though I don’t yet have money to put in it because I’m about to spend the last of my DSP backpay on car air-conditioning, after making the second last spend on get my hair re-purpled this week:

Purple hair

I got it done are Meraki Hair at Argenton – 02 49530800.

So, I’m not sure about a lot of things. I know I want to go. I know I want to get better at the language. I know I’m enjoying being back at face to face lessons even if they’re not where I’m doing most of my Japanese language learning and re-learning. Most of that is happening through Duolingo, and making a fool of myself streaming myself doing to lessons live on my Twitch channel, so I’m encouraged to read and reason out aloud, practice my pronunciation and celebrate my successes.

It was always the long term goal I pointed my efforts in therapy towards. This will mean I’ll have to look at getting some sort of income above my disability pension, again, I don’t know what or when or how. But it will be part of the journey. Maybe I’ll find a Twitch niche in Aussie girls pronouncing Japanese badly and get a following. Or I’ll pick up a few hours a week work doing something somewhere which will go to my fund but not stress me out too much, or maybe I’ll win one of those many competitions I enter and I’ll be there before I know it!

So, that’s where I’m at. Stumbling over my Japanese, dreaming of going. The borders aren’t even open to tourists in Japan since Covid, so I’m not missing out!