Update

Well, I've been in Hiroshima for almost a week now and I've pretty much stopped all of my sightseeing activities while I try to find a job. It seems my options are pretty limited here, and I may, in the end, need to head back to Tokyo. It's hard for me to really understand, but it seems like the head office of every company in Japan is located in Tokyo, and that is really the place to be for any sort of good chance at a job.

I have to admit the reason I'm not working harder to find work in Hiroshima (because I'm sure there must be some sort of work as a proofreader here) is that, despite all of my predictions to the contray, Tokyo really grew on me. Osaka, Hiroshima, even Kyoto, or for that matter San Francisco or New York, are just cities. But Tokyo is a whole other matter altogether - it is a huge sprawling mess filled with way too many people, and yet it somehow seems to work. The fact that it works, along with its array of options for intellectual and other stimulation, really is attractive to me. I haven't made any decisions yet, and I think it probably would be better to stay here in Hiroshima, but because of many factors, I might end up back there.

As usual, I'm trying to figure out a good reason to choose one plan over another. I was, optimistically, hoping that once I got to Hiroshima I would feel "at home". It is definitely nice to see Shinsuke, I really liked Miyajima, the place with the big Torii, and Hiroshima is nestled in between the sea and mountains, but the city itself isn't very attractive.

Ah, anyway, I'm just writing this down because I haven't used English much lately and it is nice to be able to express myself. It feels like most of the time I'm staring blankly at people, trying to figure out what the hell it is they just said at a million miles an hour. I still get the thrill of learning new words in Japanese, but I don't get much of a chance to communicate intelligently for any length of time these days.

Don't take that to mean I'm unhappy. I'm enjoying myself, but I'm looking forward to the next, real adventure in Japan - working. I know that sounds absurd, but after so many years of not being self-reliant, the only thing I want now is to have a job and pay for everything myself. Well, more than that, start to develop a skill at something, ie translation. Hopefully I'll find something worthwhile to do soon.

But tonight, I'm going out drinking with a friend who lived in San Francisco I haven't had a chance to see yet.