"Good news, everyone!"

Man, I have been watching a fucking lot of Futurama lately. S., thank you for that magical link to all the American television. Current runner-up in my media absorption is The Office, which is still sort of hard for me to get into, as every five minutes or so the next thing about to happen on the show seems so embarassing that I have to pause the episode and decide whether to continue onward.
Example, for my dear Office-loving friend: in the Michael's birthday episode, when Kevin is waiting back to hear whether he has skin cancer and you see Michael in his office taping a strip of yellow paper around his wrist. I was so sure that Michael was making a fake hospital intake bracelet that I stopped watching the show for a day before I finished the episode off. (I was wrong.)

Today I got my first haircut in Japan, and re-realized for the millionth time that if I feel at all nervous, my Japanese immediately goes to shit. Luckily, the vague ability to say "motto mijikai" (more short) stuck with me, and the hair stylist seemed to be a good sport about things. He would occasionally tell me that he spoke English; I am nearly 100% sure that he actually did not.
The hairstylist also thinned the crap out of my hair, so I feel a little like I'm going bald, but overall it is a happy improvement. I will take a picture, one day when I have my camera and not sweaty. Promise.

I got this haircut because doing such things is my remedy for bad days, going back since high school. It's a little more effective when I make some sort of large change, but it still always is successful in making me feel a little more "together", if you will.
Today was a bad day because, after class, I was taken into the Center's director's office by two of the staff, along with my prospective future roommate, to be told that it was highly unlikely a Japanese realtor would rent to us, as we are an unmarried girl and boy. This despite the fact that we are Americans, with our weird American ways, and are also requesting a two-bedroom apartment. The proposed solution: we both pay more money for tinier, single apartments. This took about half an hour to be told, as well, and there was a lot of "Hmm, that is difficult, but..." being said by the office staff to us. This made me sort of severely grumpy, because paying over a thousand buckaroos a month for a shitty apartment is not something I want to be doing again. Also, living alone is not good times. The last time I lived in a small apartment by myself, aka "one year ago", things were severely bad times. Often, I was basically just sad and worn out, and a little basic friendly human interaction at home would have been extremely helpful. I am worried about being in a similar situation again.

To end this post on a non-complaining note, some other things:

• Some giggly high school girls who were waiting for the same elevator as me started talking to me, making my elevator ride a little awkward, but also making me feel momentarily cool.

• The best thing I have ever learned from a cartoon: "A little club soda will get out most anything." Proof this is true: the lack of red wine stains on my carpet.

• In my daily diary entry for school, I believe I have written a coherent political/ideological position regarding military memorials (after yesterday's visit to Yasukuni shrine, which was both depressing and depressing). This is a marked improvement over my last diary entry, in which I complained about not having any friends and how I don't really like the girl I am constantly hanging out with.

• I am going to a play (or maybe it is a movie?) tomorrow in Tokyo. That's right, look who has plans for a Friday night!

And now, to (possibly) start studying for the important midterm I have tomorrow. Hooray!