Getting a Cellphone (And Other Miscellany

2004.01.25

Well, today I woke up and ate breakfast real fast. After that, I went to Obirin for a one-time job -- Obirin was interviewing for a new Japanese-teacher position. I get the feeling that my impression of a good teacher and the interviewers' impressions of a good teacher are different -- I was enthusiastic about the one man who went; he was very expressive, energetic, and could also speak in, as far as I could tell, near-flawless (and I mean it when I say 'flawless') English. Of course, I was told by the interviewers when I expressed that I thought it was good that he spoke excellent English, that "there are some people who wouldn't want to hear English here." I countered with my belief that if there is a problem, and the student doesn't understand in Japanese, and the teacher cannot tell them what is going on, then the teacher has failed to be effective. So I got paid around US$30 for 4 and a half hours of work, after taxes were taken out. *sigh* taxes. Speaking of which, I am technically required to pay Japanese and US income tax. However, what is Japan going to do next year when I don't pay? Have the US extradite me for failing to fill out a form that would require them to repay me the 5 dollars they took from me from the only reported income I made in Japan?

Suzuki-san's stuff today - I taught and made Y6900, which comes to just about US$69. I'm saving it.
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2004.01.26

Well, today I went to Machida to shop for a cellphone. I bought one. It's awesome. I don't know how to use it. It's not bilingual. It's only in Japanese. ACK!

But hey, at least I know how to turn it on and off. And I know how to take pictures with it as well. I signed up for the cheapest plan they had: Y2000 a month (US$20). The cancellation fee if I cancel within a year (of course I will, I'll be going back to the states in 6 months-ish) is -- get this -- Y3000 (US$30)! How cheap! In the US, cancellation fees run in the hundreds of dollars to the best of my knowledge.

I now need to get an SD card for my cellphone. Then I could store more pictures on my camera. But why would I actually need it, I don't know. So I probably won't buy one. The phone comes with a USB cable to connect the camera to my computer!

More on the features when I get it all figured out. Haha. In other words -- not for a loooong time ^_^.

In other words, this is Kyle Goetz, posting this article for today, and going to investigate the phone more.

Oh, I just saw my first Charlie Chaplin film (The Immigrant) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Peace out.