New Bike, New Friend

With the kidnapping of my Butterfly Battle, I was heartbroken...and walking everywhere. Lately, there has been a ton of rain and that makes walking much less fun and so I broke down and bought a new bike. The sticker on my black beauty says "Nishiki" so I have named my bike, Nishiki-san. It is a huge step up from the Butterfly but it sits much lower to the ground. Nishiki-san is the bicycle equivalent to a low rider truck but its a much smoother ride than a lower rider truck.

Meet Nishiki-san:
















As you can see, its got a joint on the handlebars as well as the frame that lets the bike collapse on itself in the event that I needed to cram it in a car or suitcase. The best part of this bike is that with the new lock I picked up for it, the total cost of Nishiki-san is $83.00. For the extra money, I picked up a much smoother riding bike and it also climbs hills better than the Butterfly due to its smaller wheels. So there you have it, my new bike.

Next up is my new friend. A few days ago, I got a call from one of my Japanese teachers telling me that she had a friend that would like to meet me and possibly hook me up with some more teaching opportunities. So I called this woman and talked with her a bit and we arranged to meet today for lunch. Her name is Maya and she teaches in the Kyoto area.

Maya and I had a good lunch and talked about tons of stuff. Things I have learned about Maya: 1)She is twenty-four. 2)She doesn't smoke. 3)She still lives at home. 4) She's single. 5)She lives in my town. 6)She has nice teeth. 7)She is overall, pretty good looking. 8)We both like a lot of the same stuff. To sum it up, possibilities exist here. When I say possibilities, I mean that I am meeting her in Kyoto on Monday, visiting some temples with her, shopping, and buying her lunch. The best part, it was all her idea. Except for the lunch part, that was mine because she bought me lunch today. Things are looking up considering the last women that took me out to lunch were in their fifties and insisted on me calling them Aunties. This Monday may be more like an actual date or it may be more like an "Oh, he doesn't have any friends and is looking for something to do so I will take him along with me" kind of thing. Either way, it should be cool and if its the latter, mercy date scenario, I am appreciative because she's right. Whatever the outcome, she has more promise than pretty much anyone else I have encountered in the past few months.

So, I am in good spirits because I have a new bike and a date-ish kind of thing lined up with a cool girl. Its a shame that I have to wait a week to see how that goes. But for now, I am going to pass the time by eating dinner.