Hotaru: I've heard from many people that teaching English in Japan often lands you as a sort of 'second class citizen' amongst the teachers, I remember meeting an English professor from UTokyo in a train on the way to Ueno that complained of similar issues in his department. So, maybe take heart in knowing you're not alone in your plight?

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Today is gonna be so busy! Have to run around downtown filling out forms to get the power switched over to our name and then see about intertubes and phone for our new apartment. I also need to buy gift wrap for the gift I bought my mom, she turns 50 today! Then, gotta rush back and get ready to go to dinner with my parents. This doesn't seem like THAT much to do, but we don't have a car so it's at least a couple of hours of walking to get to all these locations. Not to mention that we need to find what the best option is for the phone for our apartment (we need a phone to attach our intercom and security buzzer to) we might bundle a landline and net together, or simply get a cheapo cellphone if the savings on the net isn't worth the landline.

Good morning, 3FC-ers!

Man, I got a lot of catching up to do!

Katbot - The apartment sounds AWESOME! I have heard of places up north not having A/C. I think it's funny. Down here you could die of heat stroke in your house...seriously. It has happened to some senior citizens who could not afford to run their their A/C or get one repaired. Anyway, sounds great anyway! And you'll get lots of exercise going up those stairs...don't buy too many groceries at one time though...whew! Haha!

QB - I love the visual "pounds lost" idea! I may have to do something like that to give myself more motivation. Thanks for sharing!

lisa - Speaking of farmer's market, I bought some veggies at the flea market this past weekend and woohoo they were good. What veggies did you buy? I got purple hull peas and okra. And yes, eating healthy is very expensive for me too.

Icon - When is the actual day?? Maybe you have said, but I can't remember or I didn't see it.

Krystal - Woohoo! Good job!! Keep up the hard work!!

Laneyy - I don't know anything about lifting weights either. Keep us updated!

Kawaii - HEY!! Glad to see you back!!

Samma - The color run looks like it was lots of fun! I wish they would do stuff like that around here. Anyway, good job on waking up so early! Kudos to you!!

Namaste - Good to see you again!

Kahokkuri - Welcome to the chat thread!! And I feel you on the pain...it's super hot in Mississippi right now.

Hotaru - Sorry about your work situation.

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As for me, well, I've been busy with kids and other things. I had a Pampered Chef party this past Sunday. It was lots of fun. I love Pampered Chef stuff. Also, I talked to the principal at the school that I'm going to be teaching at and he said that I may be teaching science instead of English since I'm certified in both. I'm happy with that. I actually prefer science over English.

I've also started couponing a little bit. Hittin' up those sales at CVS. I bought toothpaste yesterday and only paid 36 cents for 2 boxes! Woohoo!

Anyway, the diet has been horrible. I'm telling you...I lack the motivation to do anything. I'm just trying to eat normal and not over-do it right now. I think when I start working full-time it will be easier to manage because I won't be sitting at home all day with the kids.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

Hotaru- Sorry to hear about the bummer day and work in general. I hope things start looking up for you soon.

Kat- Sorry to hear about your relationship with your parents. My mom has fibromyalgia and depression, and is sometimes a difficult person to live with. Because I am in the process of changing careers and got laid off from my job about three months ago, I am in a bit of a financial pinch and am living with my parents until I finish college (for the second time). I don't love the current situation, but it isn't so bad. I am glad you're in the process of mending the relationship with your parents, and I hope things continue to get better.

Sgregg- Hiya! Good to see you again too!

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Today's been a good day for me. I have been trying to motivate myself to go grocery shopping after doing some yoga and an abbrievated workout (about a mile walk, 15-20 minutes on the weights). I didn't know how rusty I was on my yoga, and adding a shirt that was too low cut for yoga didn't help. :/ Ah well, next time, no tank tops.

I have decided to do some vegan cooking to cut down the costs of buying premade food. I have this awesome fruit medley of frozen strawberries, mangoes, and bananas, and I really want to make a vegan smoothie out of it. My mom has this industrial-strength blender (she keeps breaking the other ones, lol, and my dad got this one for her a few years) and I am ready to tackle it. I also am going to make some rice spaghetti and marinara sauce (yes, it is vegan) for dinner tonight. So hopefully it will turn out okay.

Well, I will be back later in the day, I will definitely post some pics if I ever get this stuff cooked, lol. Take care!

@namaste that sounds delicious! Maybe I'll make some pasta soon too!

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So, like I said, we went around hooking up our services today. We ended up getting the landline as it got us a better deal on nets to do so....and....since we're definitely not what you'd call normal people, we came home and bought a phone for the new land line....not just any phone, a black porcelain vintage style phone.....



This phone.

It's not actually rotary, the buttons are push tone. I figured since we're living in a character apartment from the 30's, we should keep up with the decor...also, most of our 'good' furniture which isn't second hand or ikea is in a colonial style, so this phone will match them.

Bleh, sorry to have vented guys. I'm happy to say that I was at least good and didn't binge (as much as I wanted to) I ate an avacado and went to bed. I know that it's not uncommon for ALTs to be treated like crap, it's just entirely frustrating when the teachers tell me after every class that I've done an awesome job of putting the lessons together and that they think the students really had fun then treat me like dirt once their assigned class period is over.

sgregg: Yay science!

kat: I love that phone...I wish that I lived somewhere classy enough for a phone like that.

@Hotaru: The frustrations of an ALT really never end. Even though the job isn't difficult, the lifestyle is also not easy. I spend a lot of time on a forum dedicated to ALTs; although people over there tend to be really immature, it's sometimes nice to talk to people who understand the situation you're in.

@Katbot24: The apartment sounds amazing! You must be getting tons of exercise if you're walking around town to do all of your errands. I don't have the desire to give up using my car when it's this hot out, but I know I'd benefit if I stopped using it for shorter trips.

@namaste948: I've made the mistake, multiple times, of wearing too-short shorts to yoga class. Inappropriate clothing is the worst because I spend more time thinking about my butt/chest/stomach showing than actually doing the moves.

Hotaruchan sorry about your day. Tomorrow is a new day! I'm sure it will get better with time.

sgregg I had intentions to get okra but I forgot. I got potatoes & tomatoes. Tried a new vegan vendor while there.....yuck! I love English...only liked doing experiments,in school. Yes , sitting at home and tryin to eat right can be tough.

namaste984 its good that you got a work out in, better than skipping out. I really want to see pics of the vegan food. The vegain dish I tried Saturday was terrible.

Katbot24 Glad everything is going so well with the apt.



As for me today went great! I did Turbo Fire today, and even though I don't have the moves/steps down.....I LOVED IT! I was tired , but I felt it. Once I get the moves down, its on!!!!! Eating went well tracked everything in MFP, totaled 1236 my goal is 1310. I have lunch for tomorrow already packed in the fridge. Turbo is pretty intense , so I may consider tryin the 30 day shred...mix them up a bit!

Sorry if a lot of typos...using my phone...just put my little one to bed, don't feel like pulling out the laptop .

hotaruchan: ooooh, i see. somehow i thought you were JET... i guess private companies can get a bit dodgy... hang in there. that sounds like a really crappy situation though i've unfortunately heard a lot of similar stories from people around me... seems like the only way out is often to change jobs. hugs though. today will be better oh and congrats on being good diet-wise.

kabot: haha, love that phone

sgregg: wohoo, so school is all over and you're gonna start teaching soon? you excited? good luck with everything. and yeah, it can be really hard to diet when you don't have a routine... just try to hang in there for now and be good. what's pampered chef??

namaste: sounds like you're in a good place good luck with the smooties. i'm always too lazy to attempt stuff like that, haha...

kahokkuri: hahaha... not sure that trying to sell ITIL to hotaruchan would be good for her sanity... eheh... it's a shame though, because before everything all went to sh*ts over there, it really was nice to talk to peeps in the same situation... say, are they still doing oramas? those were fun...

lisa: congrats on the successful day


hiya girls, already wednesday here and i've been a huge slob all day, being on vacation and all but i'm just about to go do my 30DS for the 4th day in a row and my muscles have FINALLY stopped hurting from getting back into the swing of things so it shouldn't be so bad. i've also lost 3lbs since starting out, which - even though it's most likely just water weight - is making me pretty chipper and i've been eating so little that i've already noticed a drop in my appetite... this morning i couldn't even finish my breakfast. lol. hopefully things will keep on going this way

hope everyone has a good day today.

KawaiiCandie: Haven't had a real orama since last summer–it's not the same without krampus–but I did organize a mini-baby orama last month.

I feel like crap today. My throat started hurting yesterday and by this morning I couldn't even speak. My voice has slowly come back over the course of the day, but my throat feels like it's full of sandpaper and the rest of my body is just tired. I don't know how much is the heat and how much is that I'm possibly getting sick. Need to get my *** to the gym tonight, or else limit dinner and after-dinner snacks to 400kcal.

On a bright note, I'm going to get waxed this evening!

Hi guys,

Got a few pics for you of some random things I've been up to.

smooth 005.jpg

This is the pic of the smoothie I made. It's a strawberry mango smoothie with a lil orange juice and vanilla rice yogurt added in for good measure. I have been hearing about some amazing smoothies through my local vegan restaurant's FaceBook page so I will definitely give those a try for some later meals. My pasta turned out so-so, if it would have had a better sauce it would have rocked my socks off. My mum also bought some other pasta too, which I only had some of.

shellypic.jpg

This is a picture of my "Pounds off!" jar with six little stones in it for six pounds lost. I hope to lose tons more (and fill the jar, lol) as time goes on.

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Kawaii- Thanks! I have my off days sometimes but for the most part I consider myself very lucky.

Lisa- Got a few pics, lol. Sometimes vegan dishes can turn out really good or really bad, just depends on the nature of the ingrediants and whose cooking them. I can pull off a smoothie or a salad but I am not so great with serious cooking. Yeah I feel really bad when I don't workout and tend to eat more, so I try to workout 6-7 days a week, even if it's just little bits of exercise like 10 minutes on the bike or walking around campus, or whatever. Turbo Fire looks fun, I love the crazy music they put on those DVDs.

Kahokkuri- Oh man isn't it the worst? I couldn't even concentrate on my downward moves cause I thought I was flashing the yoga instructor and everyone else around me, lol. Lesson well-learned for me: there's a reason why yoga tops are (usually!) very high-cut.

Speaking of yoga, I'm off to another session tonight barring any further wardrobe malfunctions. Hopefully you guys will have a good day/night/morning too.

Classes are finally over for the semester...didn't think I was going to make it. m(@_@)m

On the plus side, I think my main school may have fixed a good half of my issues for me. I came in looking like death on Wednesday and after a few minutes of kyoto-sensei demanding to know what was wrong, I ended up explaining it all to him and he was on the phone with the Board of Education before I left for my first period class. I could have kissed him.

As my job was unsuccessful in killing me, it clearly falls upon me to kill myself...level 2 of 30 Day Shred starts now. I'm within half a pound of the 160s (which is lower than I've been in about 7 years). Go time.

lisa: That sounds intense...best of luck!

Kawaii: You adjust pretty fast...I still hate the lifts with side lunges (I always feel like my butt's in the wrong spot), but luckily I've done it long enough that it's time to move on and find something new to hate 3lbs is awesome! Keep it up!

Kahokurri: I hope you're feeling better! Also, where'd you find a waxing place? I've been looking with no success...I tried getting wax in a drug store and only found adhesive strips, which really aren't terribly effective.

namaste: That smoothie looks amazing...if fruit wasn't so expensive around me and I had a blender I would totally try making that to put in my face hole...

Update: My apartment is officially too small for level 2 of 30DS...I was kicking my bed trying to do the pendulum lunges and almost smacking the far wall on the front swing. GAH. Stupid shoe box Leo Palace...It occurred to me that I have a nomikai with one of my schools tomorrow...that should be fun. Any tips for low-calorie boozing?

My thighs are killing me!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t know what I’m going to do today, I may just walk. Instead of a rest day. I went over in calories last night, well it depends....MFP gives you calories back to eat when you log in exercise. I normally don’t log in b/c I don’t want to eat those extra calories. But last night I was still a bit hungry, so I ate a bowl of cereal. Nothing serious, Honey Bunches and 2% milk. I did do the starter class, it was ok, but it was long, like 40 mins. I had to pause the DVD a few times. I’m not sure exactly how much I’m going to like the slow pace ones....may try them on weekends and leave the more intense one for the week. I took out my ground beef last night for spaghetti, I will you use wheat pasta. Once my beef is gone then I will buy ground turkey....can’t afford to just throw it away. I also, got to shave my legs last night, sounds crazy> But having a infant makes it hard to do extra stuff. I have time to wash the dirt off and that about it, but last night I stayed up a little longer and boy are my legs sexy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hotaruchan - you really make me want to give the shred another try instead of just writing it off! And KUDOS, keep up the good work!

namaste984 - yes I’m sure vegan dishes take some kitchen skill! Yes the music is rocking; it makes me want to learn the moves fast so i can enjoy the music as much as they do!

Kahokkuri- hope you’re feeling better!

KawaiiCandie- water or no water...if the scale goes down, give yourself a pat on the back !

kahokkuri: yeah, krampus is a fun little party animal, eheh. sorry you're feeling under the weather though... hope you feel better.

namaste: that smootie looks yum and your jar is super cute. you guys are kinda making me wanna make one, haha.

Hotaruchan: i'm so glad to hear that your kyoto could fix some of your issues for you. and yay, summer vacation and yeah, 30DS... lol. what kills me is the jumping. jumping-jacks, i hate you forever. see, because i actually have really big boobs, anytime i have to jump repeatedly, it's not only very hard, it's actually painful. but yeah, those sidelunges are sucky... i used to be unable to do them with the weights, but now that i've switched to 1kg ones, i can do it fine. i'm doing day 6 today!!! oooh, and nomikai... i'd say stick to oolong cha. or mizuwari-shochu. unless you can get cocktails (which happened very rarely in my case) then a gin-tonic or vodka-water-lime is about the lowest you can go calorie-wise with your drinkage. have fun!

lisa: haha, you're right. yeah, if your muscles are hurting from a new work out, a walk should be good to stretch 'em out. good luck with everything. and yay for pampering yourself, even if it is just shaving your legs

hiya guys didn't check in yesterday cuz i spent the whole day with the boyfriend, which was a huge treat because we haven't been able to have a whole day together in months. like, he goes to school and works part time so "vanessa time" usually has to be squeezed in between school and work for him. i really shouldn't complain though cuz i know girls who are dating "salarymen" who work til like midnight everyday and they basically never see them, but still, it was a nice treat. i managed to be pretty good food-wise too, well, until dinner... had a salad wrap for lunch, then a starbucks frapuccino (treat, but it was soooo freakin hot) and then for dinner, we made pasta, but he wanted "white sauce" to which i added mushrooms and salmon, which i know was probably pretty high in calories, and i did eat more than a "recommandable" diety portion, but i did eat less than i normally would've, so i'll still consider that as a victory. anyways, we went to see an egyptian expo at a museum and then watched a movie at home, drinking wine, it was awesome. and i still managed to get my workout in, so yay.

lisa: Hooray for sexy legs! I have really nice lower legs, but my thunder thighs are probably going to end up being the second-to-last thing to finally go away when I'm closer to goal. The issue there is that I have super muscular thighs, but the layer of fat on top WILL NOT go away (actually that's my problem in a lot of places, but it's most apparent in my thighs...).

Kawaii: There's more jumping in level 2...and from more awkward starting positions. I felt super self-conscious doing the ones that I had enough space to do properly because the neighbors probably thought I was a crazy from all the noise jumping was making on hardwood floors >.<

So jealous of guy time...I'm up to 4 1/2 months of being on a different continent from my boyfriend and it's driving me nuts. I couldn't afford to go home during vacation, so he looked into coming over here...apparently it's barely half the price to come this way, but he's not sure when he'll have leave

Fingers crossed for cocktails at the nomikai...Gin and tonics are my poison of choice even when I'm not dieting. That would also make it harder for everyone to refill my glass every time I took half a sip too >.< I found out at the sayonara party for last year's teachers that my main school's teachers are quite the attentive bunch when it comes to topping off drinks...

Eugh nomikai. Here it's called "f!ck off, peer pressure sucks" but there it's "if you care about your coworkers you'll drink until you throw up."

I'm soooooooooooooooooooo Japanhomesick, ain't no o-ramas going on here either if that's any consolation.

I've been inexplicably seeing higher numbers on the scale. I guess only EXTREME VIGILANCE can keep it at or under 125. How the heck do people maintain in the 100s and 110s or even low 120s?!?!?!

Katbot, THAT PHONE!!!!!!!!