Christmas Cold

The last two days haven't been what I expected. After finishing school on Tuesday, I had thought that I'd have a couple of days to sort out my flat, my photos and my other projects. But my body had other ideas. I've been suffering from stomach cold, which has meant no appetite, lots of stomach cramps, and a general lack of drive to do anything. One thing did cheer me up; I did get the all clear to open the second box of pressies my mum sent. I got a pair of Guinness socks and a Guinness keyring and some handkercheifs and a Judge Dredd Graphic Novel and a ball/dartboard game and a Mr Scruff CD and a Dirk Gently novel.

So my productive two days have been spent watching the DVDs and reading the books I got for Christmas. It hasn't been all easy though. Keeping warm in my flat is a full-time job. Yes, I can keep my front room warm with the kerosene heater and the kotatsu table, but if I need to go into the kitchen or to the bathroom, well, it's like walking into a freezer. I've never managed to make tea so fast.

Yesterday I got a call from Debs saying she'd arrived in Japan. Luckily, she and her mate Hannah hadn't been affected by the Indian Sea Earthquake. They had some trouble getting from Narita to Tokyo which meant they missed their connection to get back to Tokamachi by train. So I went to Echigo-Yazawa to pick them up last night. In theory, on the phone, it seemed pretty easy. But, when I came to set off, my car was under a lot of snow and there was more on the mountain road to Muikamachi. The drive wasn't as hazardous as I thought, though there were a few scarey moments on some ice, and I got to the station safely. Both Debs and Hannah looked sunburnt and exhausted when I met them at the station. The drive back was as icey as before but we returned safely and I dropped off Debs and Hannah.

Today I've been feeling ill, but I'm feeling a lot better now and I'm starting to become ravenous. I'm at Debs at the moment waiting for Ryan to arrive so we can all go out, have ramen and get ready for our road trip to Osaka tomorrow. All four of us are heading, in Deb's car. to Osaka and Kyoto for New Year's Eve. We need to leave pretty early, around 9am I reckon, to be able to get to Osaka, check into our hotel and out to Kyoto in time to find a temple to enjoy New Year's Eve. I hope we can get our act together better than we did last time we went to Osaka.