a history of me

I did go out last night to a little get-together in the park but I didn't stay too long because I had a big day planned today: an outing to Kyôto with Yui (my speaking partner) and Megan. Of course, the weather was totally crappy and rained on and off all day, sometimes quite hard. Having no umbrella I wore my rain slicker which looks like a drape (especially given the weight loss) and it's uncomfortably warm to boot. Still, I had a really nice time.




I spotted this beautiful little bird on my way to the station this morning.


Cutest. Schoolbus. Ever!

Megan and I met at Makino Station to get on the train and we met up with Yui enroute. The really fierce rain earlier this morning made both of them reconsider the day we had planned but fortunately it let up and they both stuck with the plan. I hate the rain as much as anybody (more than most people even) but since we scheduled this outing a week ago it would have really sucked to back out just over bad weather. In the end, I think we all agreed it was worth the mild soaking we received.


This major street in Kyôto was covered (thankfully) so we got a break from the rain while waiting for the bus.


Yui and Megan pose while we wait. Do I really have to tell you who's who?

We had to take a bus to our first destination, Kinkakuji. Along the way the bus happened to pass by a castle I had read about, Nijôjô. Originally we had planned on visiting another famous temple but when I mentioned that I had never been to a Japanese castle before, we changed our plans. I took many photos which I have posted on this separate page. Megan's pictures can be seen right here.

After we were finished exploring the sights we all realized it was high time to eat something. Fortunately, we happened to find a nice little noodle shop around the corner from the castle where we came in out of the rain and enjoyed a nice meal. Rather than wait for another bus in the rain, we took the subway back which ended up being a little cheaper to boot. I'd say it was a pretty nice day and Megan and Yui seemed to get along quite well.

I guess there are a couple things on my mind, what with the big day I've got tomorrow (no hints) and lingering self-doubt born from my communication problems with some folks over the last day or two, but I'm just not going to dwell on it. Fuck it. I'm cool, it's their problem not mine. I'll leave you with this odd shot from one of Kyôto's very clean train stations.