Back in the Saddle

So after a long break that started at the end of July when JET contract ended, I’ve had to finally get back into the groove of waking up early and going in to work.

After the wonderful holiday I had back in South Africa and the relaxing week I had back in Nagano, it’s a bit of a shock to my system to go back into school and nothing much has changed. Other than my desk being full of newspapers from the last month or so it could have been just yesterday that I had last come into work.

The worst part of any holiday is the first few days of going back to work. Once you head into the office it’s the final step in leaving behind all the wonderful memories and experiences of your travels and friendships.  You’ve got to reset your thinking and get back into the routine of your day-to-day life.

I’m sure that in the next week or two it will feel like I was never even on holiday but at the moment I’m really missing home and my family and friends.

Some upcoming things that might help me feel better though:

Kappa Matsuri

The second local festival in my town is coming up this weekend and it gives me one last chance to experience the joys of Japanese summer festivals by gorging myself on wonderful festival foods and seeing beautiful fireworks in the summer night sky. Because of my holiday I haven’t had a chance to go to any summer festivals this year so I’m really excited for this!

Hobonichi Techo 2017

The lineup for the famous Japanese Hobonichi Techo planner has been revealed and I’m enjoying browsing through the various covers and options they have on offer for the upcoming year. When they go on sale from September 1 I’ll try to snag one or two for the upcoming year, which will see me enter my third year of keeping a daily journal. Not too bad for someone with such a spotty and inconsistent blogging record!

Tokyo Game Show 2016

After 5 years of living in Japan I’ve finally gotten around to actually buying tickets to TGS this year and I decided to splurge out on the Supporters’ Club tickets which net you a nifty exclusive shirt as well as a few other freebies. I’ll be heading through to Tokyo in a month or so to check out the latest and greatest that the Japanese gaming industry has to offer, and while gaming is something that is not something I can allot much time to these days I am nonetheless really excited to be part of a big convention.

So while I am currently feeling a bit sad at the end of my holiday I at least can feel a bit better knowing that in the upcoming weeks I’ll have plenty to entertain me and take my mind off any sad thoughts. So here’s to ending off 2016 on a good note and entering 2017 with a lot of fresh ideas!

• Personal