Five days

Only five more sleeps until I join my wonderful husband, J, in Japan! It has taken a little while for the enthusiasm and excitement to catch on, but consider me hooked! I can't wait until we're back together (and in the same zip code) and able to really begin our life together outside of our parents' nests.

J has been gone for over a week now, but he seems to really be enjoying himself. At first, when he was in Tokyo we were able to Skype each other and that was awesome. Just being able to see him made me feel SO much better. But since he has been at the apartment in Shizuoka we haven't been able to talk. It's been all e-mail and Gmail chats since then. Which is still much better than nothing!

I've found out a lot since my last blog post, so here's the condensed version (and what I can remember):

1. All new tatami mats are going into our apartment. Apparently the downstairs is already finished and the workers are supposed to be there today finishing up the upstairs. The school is paying for this... SCORE.
   
   
2. We were originally told our rent would be about the equivalent of $200 USD, but are now being told it will be more like $118 USD. DOUBLE SCORE. Now, that isn't including utilities, however, that kind of rent in Japan is unheard of almost. Definitely awesome and will really help us save some money once Jeremy's paychecks start rolling in!
   
   
3. Jeremy bought a bike. That's really about all I know right now, but he said it is a nice used bike (I'll post some photos once I get there) and it was a good price. I'm getting one very soon after I get there.
   
   
4. There is a Curves facility pretty close to our apartment. That is awesome. Even though I have never used a Curves fitness location, that is still much better than having no access to a gym... which might kill me! Between riding bikes with Jeremy (which I am soooo looking forward to) and doing some lifting at Curves, I can hopefully get back into the shape I was at our wedding. Sweet!
   
5. It's looking more and more like I'll be owning one of these soon. Japanese cell phones are so amazing that one company, Softbank, has been giving away iPhones for free* when you sign a new contract with them. Whatever, it may not be as amazing as some of the things other Japanese cell phones can do, but it will sure beat the hell out of my Palm Centro that occasionally decides it will call out when I want it to. Plus, I can download the application for SparkPeople. Whoo hoo!

That's all I can think of right now, but it is safe to say I am definitely getting excited. Packing began today but continues tomorrow!