moving in tokyo... again?! | no electricity, building furniture & first day teaching

6:45am at the apartment because i'd ordered furniture and hadn't registered the address with the post office. someone told me to put my name on the door. i can't believe i'm renting this. so much space. i want to be minimalist and not overconsume. that's not realistic.

the move out procedure is whack. you go to your old ward office to tell them you're leaving, they give you a form, and then you take that form to the new ward office and say hi i'm moving in. they looked at my file and said wow, you've moved a lot, you just got here.

i didn't start electricity until the 20th because i genuinely thought i wouldn't be here yet. so for four days i was building a couch by the light of a standing lamp and my phone. didn't measure the couch either, just bought it because it looked like the vibe. it fit.

somewhere in there i had a whole realization. i moved here from america, land of the free, and i've never felt more free in my life. in california i couldn't afford my own rent. here i'm 23 paying my whole rent, my own health insurance, and if i end up in a hospital the bill won't wreck me. everyone i know back home is on the constant hustle and never feels caught up. i always felt behind. living to work.

moment of truth on the electricity: it didn't work. then it did. let there be light. i have water too. i installed the ceiling lamps myself in the dark and they worked on the first try.

last day of the shuffle. gas guy, three deliveries, flowers from my boyfriend, a taxi full of luggage, and the shower works exquisitely. i also got told i'd be shadowing on saturday and then they said psych, you're teaching five lessons. spent two hours studying for it and fell asleep in my own apartment for the first time.